Project Ascension
by SolidWriter
Summary: First instalment in "Ascension" series. Carl Simmons is young, but genius engineer, who had his fate sealed by his own choice. Dangerous polar colony, where he was transfered, holds many secrets...Can he survive what is coming for him? Rated M for mature audience.
1. Prologue

**Author's note:**

 **Well, here it is. A story set in "Alien" universe, which I hope will grow further. It took my a lot of courage to start this thing, and I am very pessimistic about it. But, nevertheless, noone will blame me fo trying, right?**

 **The prologue I wrote is quite small, further chapters would be larger, of course, so prologue have only one purpose - to make you interested in story and get acquaint with some characters on basic level.**

 **And by the way, I read many fanfic's here, and found out that it's pretty hard for me to distinguish direct speech from indirect one. I am aiming for style of russian literature to make it much easier and less confusing to read.**

 **Have fun. Chapter one will be released...one day.**

The office was quite small – it could barely hold a desk with computer and two chairs. Cold white colors were dominating in furniture and walls, the only exception was black computer monitor and the corporate greyish-green uniform of the man at the monitor. In opposite white plastic chair was a young man with well-groomed "Van Dyke" beard on his face. Young man looked fine with his short black hair, brown intelligent eyes and orange uniform with light reflectors strapped into it.

\- Name and surname?

\- Carl Simmons.

\- Birthplace?

\- Io, Hender's Landing.

\- Age?

\- Twenty four.

\- Education?

\- Complex engineering.

\- Position?

\- Senior engineer.

\- Real reason why you want this?

That question got Carl stumped for a while. He was looking right at the man in greyish corporate uniform across the desk, and didn't even know what to say. He had all questions answered in his mind, but he didn't expect this one. Carl clenched his fists a little, trying to calm himself down and get the right question for the man, who can turn him down any moment right now.

\- Everyone want this, because it's best chance to leave this rock, - just as "corporate" opened his mouth, Carl quickly responded with honest answer, - I gained a position here not because of my connections, but because I am good at it...and I want more, but here? It's impossible, - Carl took a short break and sighted, as he saw the face of "corporate" – by the look of it, he was interested in what Carl was saying, - I already done for this colony everything I could, and I need to move on, find myself new challenge, new ways to learn and get experience.

\- Honesty is one of the many qualities we appreciate, mister Simmons, - said "corporate" with a little smile on his previously stone-cold face, - Because we need better people to build better worlds. I really liked your profile while I was searching for a candidate, and I had to see you in person to make up my mind, - "corporate" leaned back in his white chair, while he was searching for something in his desk, making small paper noises, - But no relatives?

\- Yeah, - Carl sighed with relief, seeing that conversation took desirable route, - Dad got KIA in some civil interplanetary war, mother followed him months after.

\- My apologies, - "corporate" took a serious look at Carl, as he was seeing something new in him.

\- No need to, I got by it long time ago...so, what's next? - asked Carl, changing subject.

\- Next is you have to start packing up, - "corporate" grinned with edge of his mouth and placed some papers on the desk, nodding to Carl at them, - And you need to fill those up and bring them in my office tomorrow morning, as soon as possible. We will start your transfer to your dream.

\- ...whoa, that fast? - Carl was shocked a little by what he just heard. He can finally leave this forgotten place!

\- It's rare opportunity that only rare men can have, - "corporate" turned on his monitor and started typing something on keyboard, indicating that conversation was over, - Any questions, mister Simmons?

\- Just one. Can you change your advertising video? It's a little...cringy, - Carl even shrugged his shoulders a bit just from the fact he remembered that awful video he watched.

\- Ask the PR-department, they fucked it up again.

As Carl shortly nodded and grinned at the "corporate" answer, he opened the office door and walked outside, to the loud sounds of working colony. It was barren planet, with dust-storms and lifeless landscapes, where humans landed nearly twenty years ago and started terraforming process. Carl reached suspenders on his engineering uniform and unfastened them, rolling part of the uniform down and exposing dark-green shirt. He reached his cigarette packet with lighter inside it as he walked past by spaceport tower, and started to smoke as he was walking towards living sector.

It was the age of slow, but steady conquest f space by mankind. Giant ships travel months to reach their destination, while well-trained crew was in cryo-pods, sleeping from one destination to another. Colonies on other world attracted many volunteers, who spent several years in service just to get terraforming process started. Space stations were constructed in key positions as science outposts, docking bays or mining facilities, holding hundreds of personnel in small claustrophobic compartments. Humanity even designed sufficient AI systems and developed androids, which were in most cases not different than man, while being stronger and better in many fields. Of course, the golden space age was not without it's darker side – such were violent uprisings in many worlds across the universe, unknown dangers on new frontier worlds...but mostly the man itself manifested the darkness.

Weyland-Yutani, multi-trillion corporation that has everything to develop colonies and lead humanity into space, also had desire to study something dangerous, illegal, even performing very serious science experiments on humans and other organisms. Of course Wey-Yu had some bad reputation because of many rumors about "black projects", and Carl new those rumors from crew-members of large trade ships, who were talking about Company in low voice and in lower decks, while Carl was performing maintenance check. Carl was a very cautious man by nature and because of his profession, so he carefully decided where he can apply for transfer. He waited whole year for the right offer, and he decided to act quickly as he saw one – there was a position for engineer for one colony, located in some polar world. Low oxygen, temperature goes down to minus ninety degrees Celsius (minus sixty in equator), dangerous wildlife...but it was a mining colony. There were deposits of valuable metals on the planet and it's three moons. It was simple logic – no human being in sane state of mind will wipe such complex installation that cost Company millions of millions dollars. And, of course, in that installation there will be no "black projects" – colony was frequently visited by various trade spaceships, and there was a constant presence of USCM Colonial Marines Corp., plus the risk to lose valuable colony. By the look of it, the only danger would be to freeze his ass off or get eaten be some of those giant worms with fur, that were living underground.

Carl actually read about the story about how the first colonists died here. It was not pleasant – initial research and scan did not reveled those giants, and only after several months they awakened. Initial colony didn't have any means of repelling those creatures, so the whole colony suddenly fell down into the oblivion, because worms bursted everywhere. No survivors. It was a big tragedy, but after that – and some big reparations from Company – new colony established repelling methods to keep those creatures at bay, and so the expansion continued. Now only what Carl needed to do – is to survive next five years in that place, get some money and move to another world.

He never liked to stay anywhere for long time. He already finished academy when his father died somewhere for some reason. Mother tried her best to leave on, but she just couldn't, despite Carl's attempt to help her. When she died, his last tie with Io was broken, and he got opportunity at some mining station far away from home. He sold his apartment and left, heading nowhere and seeking nothing but moving. No ties, no bounds – just moving, and trying to figure things out on his own. He didn't complained, it was his choice, and some years later he decide that it wasn't a bad one. Carl wanted to see other worlds, which he could call "home" one day, and if he must spend decades to fined one, he will.

When he gathered his belongings and sold some stuff to his neighbors on his floor, he was ready to leave...mentally. He still needed to deliver the papers to Company office tomorrow morning, and the sleep wasn't coming for some reason.

At least he got that magazine with smut content that could help his sleep problem.

 _Meanwhile, far-far away and later in time..._

\- Readings?

\- Pulse normal, breathing...steady, brainwaves...same pattern as yesterday, temperature...normal.

\- But, of course, it doesn't feel itself normal.

It was a giant room with a several layers of best steel man can manufacture. Inside the room was empty space with some creature in it, that was held by complex and smart system of restraints. The creature lowly hissed in painful tone, legs shaking and it's body weak for unknown reason.

The man, that watched creature via monitor, started to rub his chin slowly, puzzling with sudden change of behavior. Nearby the observing man was a woman in white science coat, that was looking at monitor with mixed expression on her face.

\- Did we done something to it?…, - asked observer from his colleague in slow tone.

\- I have no idea, but I guess that she…

\- It.

\- ...that it is in process of evolving, just as a regular xenomorph. Remember, director Emmerich, we are walking somewhere no one dared to even take a peek. We don't even know what is normal and what is not for h...it.

\- If it dies, get autopsy right away, doctor Pierce, - said director with scientific disinterest in his voice, turning away from the monitor and walking outside of observatory room, - And doctor...no compassion towards the creature, remember it.

\- Yes sir, - woman got paled for a moment, but quickly gathered herself as she returned her gaze back at the monitor.

There was a creature in pain. Restrained for month, experimented on, she didn't know love, rest or anything outside of her chambers. She tried to escape to no avail – doctor Emmerich anticipated her escape attempt and even planned it in some sort of sick experiment.

Before restraints, there was some freedom to her movement. She was locked in her cell, true, but she could roam it as long as she wanted...and since she didn't have anything to do between experiments, she roamed endlessly. But as she began to notice patterns and paying attention to people, who sometimes visited her during experiments, doctor Emmerich understood her desire to escape. So he made a "malfunctioning" door, and as soon as she ran away from the room on all fours, she got many taser shots to the face by PMC. After that Emmerich conducted new experiment several months later, trying to test her intelligence and memory capabilitie by repeating exact situation. Of course she deployed new tactics, so they had to fill room with non-lethal smokes to take her out. After that director conducted another experiment more months later with same situation, and there everything went downhill. Firstly she surprised PMC and director by using their own weapons against them in order to deal with them quickly and effectively. With greater speed, reaction and agility she was able to perform almost – she still got some shot landed to her chitin – perfectly. Most PMC's died because she sliced their throats and aimed for weakest part of their battle armor, only several lucky souls got tased and knocked down. Secondly, she used tasers and acid to make her way out of the room, and she began her killing spree. Later Emmerich noticed, that she was mostly after someone she could recognize, paying little to no attention to panicked personnel. She killed at least ten people she had contact with before her escape, and mostly unpleasant one. But she showed capacity for something, that irritated director down to his core when he realized it.

Mercy. A xenomorph in his original state is a prefect biological killing machine, that has no interest but only to preserve the Hive and make it larger. It has no capacity for such emotions, it know only killing and hatred. But she...she showed mercy to some people, doctor Pierce for example. When she broke free, Pierce was in observatory room with some of her assistants, and they had zero chance to escape from the wrath of their project. And yet, as she entered room, she recognized Pierce and walked past her just a meter away while fully aware of Pierce. Pierce, of course, was afraid of her, but she had a soft heart for a scientist, much softer then Emmerich possessed. Her relationships with experiment lead to her survival and also closer attention from director.

He knew, that one day, doctor Pierce with enough courage and support could do something really stupid, like helping experiment to escape one more time with greater chance of success. She never had it to do what they conducted here, despite her best attempts to hide disgust. But he can't just fire her, no, he will wait for right opportunity, giving doctor Pierce a second chance.

But as of now, Pierce will watch Emmerich slowly break this creatures will and making her forget about mercy and other unnecessary emotions. To start the process he needed new personnel, which should arrive next month with a shipment of new materials and equipment.

And Emmerich already had list of possible candidates for his experiments.


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's note:**

 **Nearly twice the size of prologue. That's a progress. And I made it a bit easier to read with the help of horizontal lines. Yay!**

 **It's still "introduction" part, because we have to set the stage, the actors and the conflict before the main event. And because good thing's are not to be rushed.**

 **Enjoy. New chapter will be as soon as it's ready, and since I have a lot of spare time - it will be. Stay tuned.**

* * *

\- Well, here's last stop, buddy.

It was their last day together. The sun was slowly rising from the horizon, chasing shadows away with it's golden light. The spaceport in five o'clock in the morning was buzzing with marines and command officers, who were loading their platoons and gear in shuttles. His father had very little time to spare for his son, since he was leaving in a hurry to another distant world.

\- Dad, why you did not transfer to reserve forces? - Carl finally gathered his courage to ask that question, - You had opportunity for it...why you did not do it?

\- Well...I am a bad father, sorry for that, - he smiled a bit and chuckled to easy tension, - Your mother asked me the same, and you probably heard her yelling louder than nuclear warning broadcast.

\- Yeah, I had a feeling that we will have to change all windows after that, - Carl grinned a bit, seeing his father in a good mood.

\- Me too, buddy...but, if you want serious answer, I already told your mother exactly this, - Carl's father sighed and repeated his words from an argument, that took place long ago, - Some men are going for money, some men are going just to kill stuff, y'know...but some men, rare men, came to the Corp with more personal reason…, - he sighed again, watching platoons gearing up and running in formations across the field toward battle shuttles. His father took out his cigarette packet and lighter, starting to smoke, - Me? I just wanted to honor my old man, you know? He was a good man with golden heart and determination to do right things when words were not enough, and that was one the many reasons why did it...but that wasn't the right one, - he puffed a cloud of smoke with a sigh.

\- Wasn't? - asked Carl with a surprised expression on his face.

\- Yup. Several years in service got me understand the real reason why I was doing this. Not because of money, glory, thirst for blood or making my dad proud, no…, - his father puffed smoke cloud again, taking needed time to gather his thoughts, - I saw many bad things out there, some were alien in nature, like those bladewolves...but I saw nothing that could beat cruelty of our own. I mean, if some alien decided to attack you, it will do because it's starving or because it's protecting kids and it's home, and that's understandable. What man can do? - his father puffed again, glancing at Carl with a serious expression, - Lots of things for no real reason, and that is the most scariest thing I ever saw in my life. And I decided – not on my fucking watch, y'know? - he sighed again, closing his eyes and rubbing his nose bridge, - Your mother wasn't very happy to hear this, she said that someone else can do it instead of me...but I just can't stand by, especially now. Can you understand it?

\- ...yeah, you are going out there to kick bad guy's asses, - answered Carl with a little pause, smiling just a bit, - And you can't miss it.

\- Nope, that would be a shame, - his father grinned a bit at his son's reaction.

\- Just...come back, ok?

\- I will, - his father got up and stroke Carl's head a bit, - One way or another, just give me time to deal with that riot, and I will be back home at your mother's birthday, - as his father gathered equipment, he put forward his fist, - Crash and burn, big C.

\- Crash and burn, - Carl said with a little smile while he performed bro-fist with his father.

He watched his father's shuttle taking off and disappearing in higher layers of atmosphere. It was the last time he saw his father alive before it was confirmed he was killed in action.

And that dream always was the worst he had after cryo-sleep.

* * *

Their trading ship was a large vessel, that was running mostly by local AI. Equipped with tough layers of armor to withstand micrometeorites and all kinds of radiation, it also had systems of oxygen resupply to house several dozens new colony workers. Of course, they won't need those systems most of the time in most areas, but when ship will start approaching colony and decelerate for hours, they probably need to breather fresh air instead of carbon.

The cryo-pods will first wake up captain, navigators, Wey-Yu PMC's and engineers. Carl signed a special contract which give him duties on the ship. So when he finally woke up, he just sat in his pod and tried to drive away that numbness that was in his entire body. He started to count prime numbers to concentrate his mind as he was rubbing arms and legs, just to make blood flowing a bit faster. He noticed that other colonists were still in cryo-pods and probably they will woke up much later.

Of course Company didn't pay them as much as it payed Carl.

Despite the fact that this was a very large vessel, it has very tight corridors and small compartments, even navigation deck-house could fit only six crew members at once. Most of the jobs could be done by machines and AI, but humans and androids were still needed to check it before launching and before arrival, sometimes if it was emergency situation – in the middle of the flight. They were lucky, though, and nothing happened during the silent flight of this ship through darkness of space.

Right in front of him on the wall was his terminal with monochrome display. Green letters on the display were showing Carl's name and command line, ready for input. Carl slowly rose up from the cryo-pod and walked to his terminal, inserting his magnetic card into right slot. His card, as many others, was a very large thing which could fully occupy inner side of the palm, but it had durable protective metal casing, where inside were some wires, retractable floppy cable and circuit board with all needed data. Carl quickly checked in and glanced at the terminal display, which showed him his duties for today.

The ship will decelerate and rotating itself to the right angle for several days, and there was a lot of work to do – shuttle bays must be operational, artificial gravity must be constant everywhere, and tons of other systems needed check-up. It wasn't some commercial giant refinery, but still ship was pretty large, and engineers were working in pairs across the decks. Carl's duty was the one with the engine deck, where he checked and repaired complex engine systems, which were located everywhere – propulsion needed not only to move forward, but also perform complicated maneuvers in every possible direction. Carl quickly gained some reputation as he solved some mysterious trouble with main engines that were turning off randomly. It actually was scary problem – the engines were old and had a capability to overload and damage ship's vital systems, not to mention the potential hull damage, and by miracle Carl found this in time.

Of course this would mean hours and hours of work to replace everything in such machinery.

Without the passengers it was a ghost ship. Of course there were people, but mostly they were located in three places – their assignment decks, canteen and living quarters. The corridors were dead and empty, the only sound was ship's own metal clanking and variety of noises from systems. Carl found it quite relaxing, because those noises indicated ship being operational. Of course there were some really weird noises, and sometimes he had to stop and listen carefully, trying to understand if that noise was bad or not. Many ships that were build by mankind were sometimes more that hundred years old, and sometimes even older – it was easier to just replace whole machinery and vital components inside the ship rather than build new one.

New ships, however, were state of the art. Carl was helping building one in orbital shipyard, and those new models were with larger corridors, more sophisticated interior design and more efficient in every aspect. Those ships were expensive, and engineers were hired for months, even years – it could take five-ten years to build just one vessel. But many companies – including WY – still used old ships, and sometimes they have some...problems. Hull wear-out, support beams collapsing under their weight, micro holes, pipes blowing up – Carl was very aware of those problems, and he tried his best to locate source of it and localize damage.

That would also mean going into space.

He liked out there – it was one of the really rare moments where Carl could enjoy vast emptiness of cosmos. It was scary to know that if something goes wrong, he would be drifting away from the ship with little oxygen left, until he will disappear in the darkness. But that was the risk to enjoy countless stars and see distant worlds, basking in the sunlight. It wasn't much of a view – the worlds were very distant and lifeless, the only good thing about this solar system were the many colorful nebulae. The so-called "space-walks" were done by engineer groups – at least two engineers outside in their big and clumsy suits, while others were in charge of navigation, consulting and supporting. Carl's last "space-walk" was the one where he saw the planet.

It was a giant ball of something blueish, with giant and slow clouds moving across the atmosphere. As Carl already knew, the ice covered surface of the planet with a dark blue layers, providing planet exotic color, and it was very large one – two times larger than Earth. But still somehow the planet maintained gravity of 1.4g, which wasn't bad – some colonists had problem with planets that had much stronger or weaker gravity. As Carl looked upon the planet though his visor, he felt something uneasy from this planet, something that was...wrong, deceptive. By the look of it, this planet was a pretty calm place with just blue ice, but on the surface it was pure hell. He pushed those thoughts away and finished his repairs for today after some long hours of work.

* * *

 _Meanwhile, somewhere much closer…_

* * *

\- What's the status on the project?

\- It does not appear to be responsive to us as usual.

Doctor Pierce was in the director's office, holding folder with left arm and standing on the opposite side of very expensive Emmerich's wooden desk. On the desk were lots of items Emmerich used for writing – his job consisted mostly of it – and monitor with keyboard and telephone attached to it. His red telephone was very infamous because of the many rumors about it – some people thought that Emmerich can reach top-classified facilities on the planet and perform shadow operations. Those rumors were backed up by several cases of disappearing personnel, which had quarrels with director. He was old, wise, experienced and very dangerous man with all the power he needed here. After director's soft warning months ago, Pierce changed her approach and just tried to play along.

Which wasn't nice.

\- It is blocking itself from us, expect from several team members, me included. Considering the state it is in right now, I could suggest it is in deep depression, - continued Pierce her report, - We keeping it from attempting any suicidal actions, but it does not want to make any contact with us. It listen's only.

\- Very unfortunate.

\- ...I have an idea, director. Remember the shipment with new equipment and colonists? Shuttle's just left main vessel, and they will be down here in several hours.

\- Good. So, what's your suggestion to our...problem?

\- Project "Pavlov", - Pierce opened folder and placed it on the director's desk. He leaned forward, grabbing the folder and studying it closely, - It's a longshot, sir, but it has several advantages. First of all, we deal with it's depression and actually open a way inside it's mind. Second – we will finally have leverage on it to do what you wanted it to do. And third, it's much cheaper than making a new one, because what we done was a miracle we do not understand even know. We can repeat the process, but the result could be much worse.

\- That could actually work…, - Emmerich looked at Pierce with a cold smile on his face, - And you even made a list of possible candidates.

\- They need to adapt to colony first, and we have to deal with USCM. But after some time we can easily transfer them via new contract inside this facility, - replied Pierce with dry expression in her voice, - No questions, no USCM presence, no problems, we will have full control on the situation.

\- But they can refuse the offer, doctor. I guess you already have a plan to...convince them?

\- The planet will do it for us, sir. If not, individual approach is best course of action.

\- You have my approval, doctor Pierce, - nodded Emmerich to her, - Give me all details by the end of this week.

\- Of course, director.

When Pierce leaved office, Emmerich sighed wearily, leaning back in his chair and staring into ceiling. He knew that "Pavlov" was just a facade for some plan that Pierce had in mind. Her sudden change of behavior to be more...desirable employee was also a daring fake move – while she tried to keep it cool, her hands were shaking a bit and glare in her eyes revealed her true mood. She hated him, hated her project "Pavlov", and she made her hatred work for her. She was smart and experienced, but not as director himself, who could see her through.

He decided to play along for now, to keep her close enough for a time being. Maybe he will understand her plan sooner than she could set it in motion, maybe not. But she must have faith in her abilities and be confident, because it would be better for him to keep his eyes on her.

What Emmerich didn't know, is that Pierce expected that kind of thinking from director.

* * *

 _In the upper layers of atmosphere..._

* * *

There were several shuttle's that entered planet's atmosphere right now, all of them had different flight windows and courses. Carl was sitting tight in the shuttle's seat, shaking from the strong vibration that was trying to crush shuttle's outer hull. He hated landing part – leaving atmosphere was much easier process, and more gentle one. And, to make it even worse, the vibration and rising temperature were only the beginning – soon they will enter stratosphere, which will cause massive turbulence due to high-speed wind that was roaming the planet all the time. Other colonists here had different reactions – when Carl was just pale and tensed to his core, some people were silently praying for safe landing...and some people were asleep or bored to the point they talked jokes in loud voices or just some crap for everyone near them.

Carl remembered what his father said about his combat drop unto one of the many hostile worlds he visited. Their pilot managed to land while there tornado was forming nearby, tearing out trees and large chunk of rocks. One of those rocks was launched by tornado, like from a sling, and managed to hit one of the shuttle wings, and shuttle lost control for half a minute. Of course there were no sudden tornado's here right now, but the wind could still have enough force to blow shuttle away from landing window. Carl squeezed seat restraint tighter, fighting the dizziness and nausea as best as he could, but eventually he throw up, luckily on the floor in front of him.

\- Yeah, landing is a bitch, - Carl heard a voice from the right, and turned his head in exact direction. There was a man with short blond hair and several small scars on his not so young face. Looking at the uniform, Carl quickly understood that he was right – it was one of the USCM marines in a rank of corporal, - You fine, kiddo?

\- Yeah, had worse, - Carl wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

\- Just talk, don't pay attention to all that vibration and shaking. At least it helps me, heh...what's your name, kid?

\- Carl. Carl Simmons.

\- Corporal Steiner, at your service, - marine saluted Carl with a big grin of his face, - Thanks for aiming to the floor and not my shoes, Carl.

\- It would be rude thing to do, corporal, - answered Carl. To his amazement, he started to feel a bit better while he was distracted with talking, - And I am not a rude person.

\- I like your manners, kiddo. What brought you in that shithole? - the shuttle was suddenly hit with such force, that everyone jumped into their seats, making some people to throw up onto their neighbors, - I am here because my superiors needed "best men to survive hostile planetary conditions". You?

\- Engineering contract, - explained Carl, who jumped into his seat again from the turbulence, - They also needed "better men to build better worlds", but I just want to make cash for living.

\- If you came here for cash, you came to right place, kiddo – that planet we land is a massive constant shitstorm. If you applied for service on moon bases, it would my much quiet.

\- And boring, - Carl grinned a little, making corporal laugh a bit.

\- Good attitude, kiddo! But let's be serious – we really heading into something hostile, so be smart and stay alert, - Steiner pointed to porthole, where snowstorm was raging, - Freezing your ass off is not so bad comparing to being digested for days.

\- But you can kick some asses, right? I saw weapon crates and some serious stuff while it was loaded on the shuttles.

\- Oi, you are a weapon expert?

\- My father was a marine, - answered Carl, - He was promoted to a captain, right before Andro Seven.

\- Whoa...sorry, kiddo, - Steiner glanced at Carl with a concerned face, - You I guess you are on your own, right? Otherwise no one would let you come here, unless you were stubborn as fuck.

\- Pretty much, yeah. But it was long time ago, I got over it...at least it's what I think happened.

\- Hey, kid, - Steiner bumped his fist into Carl's shoulder lightly, - We have lots of weapons to deal with some local's. Flamethrowers, grenade launchers…

\- ...M41A pulse rifles, ten millimeter caliber, M41AE2 heavy pulse rifles with three hundred rounds in barrel, M4A3 service pistols, nine millimeter caliber, M3 combat armor with live camera feed...and tons of other stuff. Also I was checking APC, and it's very robust son of a bitch.

\- You dig it, and I love it, - Steiner laughed so loud that he woke up a marine near him, - Oi, Anderson, sorry for that, get back to napping...so, Carl, - Steiner returned to him after he finished with fellow marine, - Your dad showed you some of the arsenal?

\- Better, I was on a military ship. We were in transition with his battalion to another base, and dad with some good marines showed me their toys. But it was long time ago.

\- Look, you seem like a good kid with some brains on the shoulders. Are you that good? Because we probably need a qualified help from someone who already had experience with military, - asked Steiner with a hope in his voice.

\- Well, my contract means that I can work for USCM, Wey-Yu and local administration, but Company have higher priority. If you can pull some strings, I could possibly work with your...what forces we are talking about?

\- Five platoons, each consist of thirty hardcore fully equipped badasses, kiddo, - Steiner grinned complacently, - It's more than enough to deal with possible riots and occasional local wildlife.

\- ...wait, how many people are living here? They never told us for some reason.

\- Three-four thousand, counting the moon bases, but they are small. Most folks live in this frozen hell...so, back to the initial question, we drifted a little. If we can get you assigned to us, and you will perform as fine as you talking right now, we can get you access to shooting range and get your ass into training, - Steiner pointed to Carl's stomach, - That buddy of yours needs love from gym and heavy exercises.

\- Yeah, it would be nice, corporal Steiner, - Carl respond shyly. He had a little weight problem, and Steiner was right – he need to deal with it. With marines help it wasn't so impossible.

* * *

Shuttles, as Carl suspected, were landing not on the planets surface, but instead in underground spaceport – since there were no strong winds under several meters of ice, steel and concrete, it was also possible to maintain good temperature. It still was freezing as hell, but not like on the surface – the hangar bay's were maintaining minus ten degrees temperature, while outside it was freaking minus thirty eight. It was equator zone, and the hottest one, inside some area surrounded by distant tall mountains. When shuttle landed on the pad, it automatically grabbed and secured shuttle's lading gear, so the wind won't blow it away. Carl heard some clanking from opening and closing horizontal hangar doors, which let shuttle inside the large shaft, where pad was going down at least twenty meters.

When pad finally stopped, shaking for the last time everybody in their seats, they were still strapped in their seats, because all colonists must gather their cold-protective gear and hear a briefing about using it properly. Carl already read about it in a booklet, and he had some experience wearing lots of stuff on himself. Sure marines had too, since they were the first one to equip it. But Carl was puzzled with a question, which Steiner read on his face:

\- Hey, kiddo, what's with the serious face?

\- Just trying to figure out why we were not wearing that gear before entering atmosphere.

\- Well, that gear of yours costs a lot, since it has lots of sensors and thermo-things, - Steiner was already in full gear, with transparent protective goggles on his forehead, - And it would be a shame for some asshole to fuck it up during the flight. Besides, if we crash-landed, that gear would probably survive in those metal cases along with some lucky bastards.

\- ...makes sense.

That gear was complicated, and consisted of many parts to keep body warm all the time. As Steiner pointed out, gear had some sensors for tracking colonists down – since newly arrived colonists will have to wait for implantation of tracking device – with attached wrist-watch, compass and light-reflectors. Since they were not conducting military operation, all colonists uniform was black with some red stripes on the back and front, to make it easier to spot. Even marines were wearing that gear, but Carl new that there must be a second set of gear, which should be dark-bluish, in the colors of ice everywhere. That would be logical thing to do.

After briefing all colonists finally gathered their belongings and started to moving from the shuttle to medical bay. It was also a logical thing to do – some people could have different reaction on planet's electromagnetic field, some people could have problems that initial medical inspection after cryo-sleep couldn't determine. And that actually happened to several people, before it was Carl's turn to enter the cabinet – some men were quickly relocated somewhere on the roller beds by medical teams. Carl shook his head, and entered the cabinet.

\- Mister Simmons, I presume? - he was greeted by old black man, who was mildly smiling, - How was your trip down here?

\- No the best ride I have, but manageable, doctor?…

\- Warren, and by the way Carl too, - he pointed with his open palm to the bad at the wall, and Carl quickly sat there. Warren rose up from his chair and started to check on Carl – pulse, heartbeat, breathing, - Dizziness? Headaches? Hallucinations?

\- Nope, only throw up a little during the landing sequence.

\- Good. Let's check your height and weight.

\- Why?

\- Standard procedure, - smiled Warren, pointing to the complex apparatus near Carl. He sighed and entered machine, where Warren started to measure, - Height – one meter eighty two meters, weight – ninety five kilos.

\- Yeah, at one point I stopped caring about my weight, - frowned Carl.

\- Well, I can help you with that, after acclimatization, of course, - Just check on me later, deal?

\- Deal...and thank you, doctor, - Carl stepped out of the machine, - Am I free to leave?

\- Sure, nothing major for now...oh, by the way, - Warren stopped Carl just as he opened the door, - You know, how they call this colony?

\- Tenga Four.

\- It's official name, but locals in second wave decided to call it "Man's Fall". Not only because of what happened to first wave of colonization, but because some people are stuck here for more than five years of official contract, - Warren glanced at Carl with a mixed expression of seriousness and concern, - Since you a fine lad, here's free advice – there are some people who are not happy here, and you better watch your tongue and watch every step to avoid getting into trouble. Make some good friends with good people, and stick with them.

\- Can I consider you a friend then, doctor? - asked Carl carefully.

\- Now you can, lad.

* * *

 _Back to somewhere now even closer…_

* * *

\- I know, you don't want to talk.

Pierce was in the room with the creature, that was still bounded by lots of restraints. Pierce was several meters away from the creature, behind the red line, and she was holding folder in her left arm.

\- But I need you to understand, that I can't do anything right now. I am already risking my life by talking to you during mess I just did, and I want you to stay strong. There's hope.

Creature slowly raised it's head from the floor, now looking right at Pierce, who suddenly got pale.

\- ...s-sorry, I fo-forgot you can do this...look, he wants you to become like them, and I had to play along with him. I have to...listen to me! - Pierce suddenly yelled at the creature, - I have to, otherwise you will be dissected like some animal, which you are not! You can sense that I am lying, do I lie to you now? Do I?...yes, I do not, - Pierce gathered herself with a heavy sigh, trying to calm herself down, - Look, I will do what I can to my best ability, but you need to play along for now too. Don't lie, just...pretend, adapt…, - Pierce pulled her sleeve up, revealing her watches, that were ticking calmly, - Not much time left. Do you understand me?...good. I have to leave you now, otherwise I will not be able to help you.

Pierce quickly dashed to the door, opening it and leaving the containment area. She took all precautions before meeting with her, but she clearly understood one thing - Emmerich was watching them, somehow, despite power shortage in the middle of the night and diversion she created with camera feed. And it meant only one thing – their internal conflict moved from "cold war" to a new level. Pierce had some jokers up her sleeve, but she didn't want to use them right away.

But both doctor and director were not only enemies to each other. There was a third side of the conflict.


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's note:**

 **So, 100 views in less than four days, that's very encouraging. But I suddenly realized that I am lacking feedback or commentary, that would be nice too. There are, by they way, some minor typos from late night writing, which encouraged me to take more time in the future for checking, because it's important to read something without your eyeballs exploding. But for now bear with me.**

 **So, back to the story. It's moving slowly, but steady, with lots of questions to be answered lately when time is right. And this chapter got real big - bigger than chapter 1 and prologue combined. I had to stop myself to not let it grow further.**

 **Also, I am taking inspiration from "Alien" and "Aliens" soundtracks, which helps me to create the right mood. Some people also noticed that they felt the atmosphere from the first two movies while reading this fic. I'll try my best to stay on course.**

 **Enjoy. Chapter 3 will be released one day, since I want to take a short break, work on English a bit and think more on the story.**

* * *

Carl's quarters were pretty small, and "quarters" was a big word for a room with kitchen, table with two chairs and bed with a rack built in the wall panel in the same room. Toilet and shower cabin were located in separate rooms, but still there wasn't much space, even videocom and his terminal were inside wall panels. Cheap, easy to build and maintain, rather claustrophobic, but Carl wasn't complaining – he knew about it before he decided to sign the contract.

He turned the inner heater on and regulated the temperature. He have to wear his gear for some time before his quarters will be warm enough. Meanwhile Carl changed his bed linens and prepared thick blanket to cover himself – it would be a long time before he could leave his bed and roam in his room without protective thermogear. But he had something to help him spend the time – a new model in a series of portable disc players and set of very expensive earphones. Some people had old and cheap cassette players, but Carl had one strict rule about music being good both in quality and meaning. Of course he had some "guilty pleasures" songs, which were stupid or just plain simple, everyone had those. He searched his big black bag with one hand, getting all books in protective plastic casing on the rack near bed, and after some searching he finally found one book he wanted to read first after landing.

It was called "Terror".

* * *

\- So, nothing happened during power shortage? - asked Emmerich calmly.

\- I tried to call the PMC, but they were somewhere too far away. I saw opened door in the containment unit and got inside to watch the object, trying to prevent any escape attempts, - answered Pierce in monotonous voice, - It was a huge risk and against all protocols, but we can't allow object to escape.

Emmerich nodded to Pierce, agreeing with her. But inside he knew, that something happened between doctor and object during the power shortage. They were investigating this incident for the whole week, and investigation didn't even considered Pierce a possible suspect. Emmerich even noticed that he respected Pierce for her determination and her abilities to cover her tracks, as she slowly rose from just an apprentice to be his personal nemesis.

He played games a long time ago, and playing one with Pierce could provide him some fun on this boring planet. Besides, he already had a big plan that Pierce couldn't stop, because he will use her without her even knowing it.

\- I guess we have to move "Pavlov" a little furher in our timetable, - sighed Emmerich, slowly playing with a pen in his palm, - But that's actually could benefit us in the end, because I have several ideas how to...improve this project.

\- How, director? - asked Pierce. Emmerich watched her closely, and she didn't even flinched neither from his glare nor from his words. She was getting good at games.

\- Your project have lot's of good ideas and suggestions, but they are very...mild, doctor. I think that we need to add as much intense situations to it and modify data acquisition to be transferred directly to object. I already gave orders to put screens in it's containment unit and reduced number of "Pavlov" subjects to five. And only one, as you suggested, will be suited for our needs in phase two.

\- Should I prepare the teams for your orders?

\- Yes, you still have full authority.

If Emmerich could, he would applause Pierce's unyielding spirit. Despite his shadowy warning concealed under corporate talk, she clearly understood the message. She was still young in those games, and you can't win just by becoming brave and hiding your emotions. Oh no, Pierce needed some trump card under her sleeve, and Emmerich knew that she didn't had any. At least now. But for now director wanted to play along and see what moves Pierce will pull out.

\- But I will send some of my assistants to help you with a preparation to "Pavlov", - continued Emmerich, - They won't get in your way and will be under your command all the time.

\- How many you want to send? Because we probably need more men.

\- I wanted to send five, but let's make it fifteen, - Emmerich slightly smiled. She was gambling a lot right here to look like a cooperative doctor and to gain his favor, - Is that will be enough?

\- For the time being. I'll let you know if my team will be in need for more manpower. Is that all?

\- Yes, you are free to leave. Detailed documentation on the changed project "Pavlov" will be sent to your terminal.

As Pierce left office, she felt a weakness in her knees. That was a tough one – Emmerich not only started to dig under her, but also changed her project – which was expected from him – and put a leash on her team. She had to play it tough and gamble a bit, and she just bought some time for her to…

To what? She didn't had a solid plan, despite countless nights without sleep, and now she could only prey for the right person to pass the "Pavlov", because all of this was depending on dumb luck. Pierce didn't consider herself lucky person, and never had a strong faith in some guy on the clouds, therefore she felt herself in an already closed trap. But...she will fight. For her sake and because she made promise, she will fight to the end, no matter how horrible her fate would be.

Because she can't tolerate it anymore.

* * *

A whole week of acclimatization was boring on events. Carl signed up to be part-time engineer in Steiner's Delta platoon. They were located actually not far away from Carl's apartment – it took him five minutes of lazy walking on strong concrete road to reach their small base. Well, small by Carl's account – it had one garage with two APC's on standby, gym, training area, shooting range, armory, command center on the second floor (it was literally second – Carl didn't get all "ground floor" thing while it was first one) and quarters for thirty hardcore badasses. His first day in the Delta's HQ was a nice change of things, because apparently they had some stuff to fix, and all Carl needed is working. One day while he was fixing monitors in one of the APC's, he was visited by Steiner and some marines:

\- Here he is, marines – our brilliant young guy with hands not from his ass, - proudly presented Steiner Carl to other marines, - Kid's name Carl.

\- Pleasure to meet you...sorry for talking back to you, I just have to fix that shit, - grunted Carl, trying to carefully wield wires to the circuit board.

\- Hah, that guy surely loves fixing stuff, - suddenly Carl heard woman's voice from behind. Well, there were lots of women serving in USCM, he just couldn't get used to it, - I guess you can't ductape my lost virginity, boy?

\- Yeah, - Carl finally fixed wired and turned around to face Steiner with three marines – Steiner and woman with a giant man. Woman was a little smaller than Carl or Steiner, but she was looking strong and aggressive with her left side of the head being bald, and right side having long red forelock right next to her eye, - I pretty much have to wield it, just to be sure, - Carl said, raising his soldering iron upwards.

\- Steiner, where the fuck you found him?! - the woman bursted into loud laughing. She went inside APC and gently slapped Carl on the shoulder, - He knows how to backtalk! Name's Grizzly.

\- Big C, - answered Carl, nodding to woman.

\- Big C? That suits you, considering this, - she slapped Carl again, but on his stomach, laughing again, - No sweat, kid, Steiner already told us that you could train with us, and now I am like – why the fuck not? Hey, Steiner, think we can convince sarge? - asked Grizzly corporal, while she stepped aside to let Carl work.

\- With three of us we probably can, - Steiner looked upon marine next to him, who was pretty much towering – Carl suggested his height was meter and ninety, and he looked very muscular, but somehow calm, - What do you say, Dmitri?

\- Well, he knows backtalk and can fix equipment fast, - answered marine with a deep calm voice, while he crossed his arms on his chest, - I give him that – last engineers were not what we looked for, and he fixed in several days what we had broken in weeks. Yeah, I think I can put a word for him.

\- Thank you, I really would appreciate to be part of training routine, - Carl nodded to both Dmitri and Grizzly, returning to his work.

\- Just remember, kid – we are marines, and this planet's gravity is a bit higher than standard one, - Steiner slowly walked into APC, checking monitors, - So we don't want you pass out from training, and you are free to leave anytime you want – no one will dare to say anything.

\- Yeah, - nodded Grizzly, - You actually fixed a lot of stuff here, including heater in my room, so I can finally sleep without all that fucking gear.

\- But we have some problems with sentry bots, - suddenly said Dmitri to Carl, - Think you can fix them?

\- Why not? Are they on the list? - asked Carl, checking the monitors for the last time.

\- Yeah. We can't get them operate, and since it is a very dangerous piece of machinery, we just stuffed them in armory along with spare parts for them, - answered Steiner, turning to Carl.

\- Well, it's fixing time.

Sentry bots were automatic distance turrets with motion-detectors. Once placed, you can sit somewhere in the bunker and just watch sentries ammo count and status via special portable briefcase. Marines were using those bots to defend choke points and in urban warfare, and were part of regular platoon equipment. When Carl was on board his father's battalion ship, he had a chance to open one of the malfunctioning sentries and study it with another engineer. Of course it was a newer model, so first of all Carl needed all specs on sentry before he could actually start inspection. It took actually not hour or two, but several – he understood the reason of malfunction only by the end of next day.

\- I got it! - finally Carl shouted with a victorious voice, getting all nearby marines jump from the sudden shout, - Sorry, but I finally got it. It will take even longer to repair, but they will be fully operational. They used cheap...nearly everything, lucky for us not the main board.

\- How long it will take, big C? - asked Grizzly, rubbing her chin.

\- Well, we have spare parts for those bots, and wires are not a big deal, so...day-two, three tops. I just have to focus on them.

\- Well, you better hurry – local's are going to throw us upstairs soon.

\- ...expedition?

\- Nope. Wey-Yu are assembling engineering teams with USCM to check on radar and other structures, - Grizzly slightly yawned, not even bothering to cover her mouth, - And yeah, you are with us, sarge pulled some strings, because he want us to get this done in several hours.

\- Last time we were out there three weeks ago, and we were stuck on surface for three days, - Dmitri growled a little, shivering just from the memories of chilblain, - Because we had some idiots without any competence and discipline.

\- Translating to normal speech – they fucked up majorly, - giggled Grizzly, - Dunno how, but they made initial damage look like a top-class state of equipment. And they probably will send us back to it.

\- Well, fuck me sideways…, - suddenly said Carl, imagining state of equipment he will face soon.

* * *

Pierce was watching in her observatory via monitors at both her and Emmerich's team that were constantly moving around in and out from her containment unit. She didn't pay to much attention to them, since she already knew that restraints of director's design will keep her in place till the end of time.

While she was in observatory, the remembered her first time visiting...not, she's not an object, she's a person, no matter how Emmerich tries to force everyone see her. She was afraid and confused, she had too much questions, and what make it worse is the fact that Pierce actually was afraid from how easily she communicated with her. Pierce felt naked and exposed to her, and it took her a lot of time just to adjust to that feeling, and it took even more for Pierce to calm her down. On her place Pierce would be scared as hell too, especially knowing that you can't escape the place because some smart asshole keeps on experimenting constantly.

They didn't had any right neither hold her here no make her in a first place. What Pierce saw as opportunity in genetic engineering when she said "yes" to Emmerich's offer slowly grew into playing God in the field they did not understand at all. They made some progress and discoveries, but the cost was too high by Pierce's opinion.

\- Everything set, doctor Pierce, - suddenly her thoughts were disturbed by leader of Emmerich's support team, who was talking via remote microphone, - All monitors and speakers are operational.

\- Check it again, we don't want any malfunctions with equipment in containment unit, - Pierce pressed the large button on the panel in her observatory, activating microphone, - And remember to stay behind red line.

She released the button and returned her sight back to the monitor with restrained creature. Even her tail was secured tightly – Pierce saw several times her attempts to move it to no avail, and she tried to do it right now too. She was stubborn now, and she didn't break as Emmerich wanted her to, but with "Pavlov" it could happen. It was like an invisible race between director and Pierce – who will reach their end goal in "Pavlov" will get the prize. No second places.

The automatic door behind her slowly opened, letting Emmerich in. Apparently he as in a good mood, since he was smiling sincerely:

\- Doctor Pierce, I just got notice that we are all set to start phase one.

\- We are, director. I gave your team instructions to check everything again before we can give it a go.

\- Good thinking, - nodded director to her, - I also made minor changes to phase one, but you don't have to worry about it, - Emmerich smiled to Pierce now with his infamous masked face of a "nice director", - Those changes were on my side, not yours, and will not tamper the project.

\- Everything was checked again, all systems operational, - reported Emmerich's team again from a cracking speaker in the observatory room.

\- May I? - Emmerich pointed to the microphone near Pierce.

\- Of course, director, - she stepped aside, watching with as much disinterest as she could.

\- This is director Emmerich. All personnel are to leave containment unit, - commanded director immediately, - And watch that red line! Now...shall we start, object A? - Emmerich smiled again, but creepily this time, - I am fully aware of your capabilities to understand English language and your desire not to speak with anyone. So...you can just nod up-down for a positive answer and left-right for a negative one. Do you understand?

Pierce watched for several seconds with a rising tension as the creature wasn't reacting at all to director's words. But after what seemed like eternity she saw creature slowly rising and lowing her head, which made Pierce inhale internally with relief.

\- Good. You can see in front of you several black panels. Soon they will have static images of five subjects. I want you to pay attention to panels, they will show you what those people are doing and how. Shall we begin?

* * *

\- Move it, people! - yelled Steiner at his squad, - One-two, one-two!

As Steiner warned Carl, training under higher gravity conditions was a difficult thing. Especially if you are wearing full thermogear with backpack with several pouches full of stuff and weapons strapped to the back and hips. As a mere of precaution and to let Carl train with other marines, his weapons were without any ammo clips and on safety guards. Sometimes. Because right after training Carl visited shooting range, practicing with handguns mostly.

It was a whole month since Carl's arrival. Sometimes he worked for local administration, doing small repairs here and there, sometimes Wey-Yu called him to fix equipment in local lab's and medical facilities. One day, though, he visited atmospheric generator, which was partially underground for easier access and protection. That structure was massive, and despite most of the systems were automated to be insanely efficient without man, it still needed repairs and care. Those generators, though, had a dangerous reputation since terrorist attack on Hadley's Hope – riot forces had a firefight with dispatched marine forces, and during the firefight some critical points were hit with pulse rifles, starting fusion reaction. Since Hadley's Hope new type of atmospheric generators were introduced, more efficient and sturdier, but still they had lots of weak points. Carl was walking inside the complex for hours with engineering team, trying to figure out where he could apply his skills and trying to get himself navigate complex better.

Carl's adventure on the planet's surface was delayed due to change of shifts, and he was working with Delta's and colony administration mostly. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, because as doctor Warren said, there were some very tensed people, trying to leave this frozen hell. Many people disliked Carl because he always had something to do in the colony, therefore his bank account grew larger by the week. Successful people were in one club, and to so successful were in another one, and tensions between those groups sometimes sparkled into debates, shouts and occasionally – fights. The distanced relationships between Company and local administration only made it worse, so local police force and USCM were between several lines.

What made it worse, is that one day Carl received a call from one of the engineering departments via videocom, about sudden malfunction in one of the many boiler plants. He was quickly assigned with some engineer, who was in charge of the plant, to investigate, assess and repair everything gone south. Several minutes after the call Carl was already on the move to boiler plant, activating his both shoulder camera and hidden one. Just recently Carl received hypodermic implant, which was transmitting his position and life signs, so he had no need in tracking device in his inner pocket.

At the plant, which was nearly indistinguishable from any other structures if it wasn't a sign "Boiler №20" over giant automatic doors, he was greeted by a big and pretty fat man, who was waiting for Carl with keycard in his fat palm.

\- Name's Gibbens, - man extended his palm to Carl, which young engineer shook with a silent nod, - So, you are that lad with a reputation of "Mister Fixer"?

\- That's how they call me in the department? - Carl was really surprised by this revelation. He didn't payed too much attention on how they called him behind his back, he was too busy working.

\- Yup, pretty much. Come on in, that boiler won't fix itself from a chit-chat.

\- So, did you find the problem? - asked Carl, stepping inside the boiler plant. It was all about pipes, heaters, pressure converters ans other machinery that kept water hot for the need of colonists.

\- Yeah, and that's just hilarious, - Gibbens showed Carl the way to come corner, where were several pipes with a fuse box behind them, - Dunno who got the idea to build it like that, but I can't get in to replace those fucking fuses. Can you get in?

\- Sure, it's just strange that…

Carl didn't have much time to react. When he felt a hand grabbing him by the head, he placed his palm on the hot pipe right before the strike. It was close – if Carl wasn't wearing any protective gloves and reacted just a second slower, he would've hit that pipe with his forehead.

\- Now listen closely, you piece of shit, - Gibbens was still had Carl's head, grabbing by his hair, - Those camera's are offline, and you don't need that one too, - as Gibbens said it, he put his left palm on Carl's shoulder camera to tore it and smash against the wall.

That was the moment Carl knew – he need to strike back. He clenched his left fist and hit Gibbens right in the balls. From the sudden pain he released Carl, and he hit Gibbens again, connecting back of his head with fat engineer's nose bridge. Quickly turning to face Gibbens, Carl stepped under the pipes and shove part of his winter coat to the side, revealing a holster, attached to his hip. Inside the holster was a pistol, which Carl quickly took out and fired. Of course it was a pneumatic one, permitted to use in self-defense, which was the case right now, so instead of a bullet Gibbens got a metallic ball to his kneecap.

Which still hurt like a bitch. Gibbens fell down to the floor right away with a surprised scream.

\- This is Simmons, - Carl tapped his earphones to contact engineering department, - Central, you got it?

\- Yes, pretty much. Marines already on their way, stay where you are and continue to record with your secondary camera, - answered female voice.

\- The fuck is your problem with me? - Carl was panting heavily from adrenaline rush, pointing pistol towards Gibbens, who was on the floor swearing curses towards Carl.

\- You took the fucking place from my boy, asshole! - grunted Gibbens, holding his knee with both hands, - He should be there, not you!

\- ...that's fucking it? - Carl didn't even believed what he just heard, he even lowered his aim, - That's the only reason you wanted me dead?

\- I was waiting for him for two years, and now I won't see him God knows how long! - shouted Gibbens at Carl in pain and hatred, - Because some smartass took his place!

\- Fuck, can't you just talk to Company about it?! - Carl shouted back at Gibbens.

\- I fucking talked to them! Nine fucking month of paperwork and visiting suits in their clean offices! - Gibbens spat on the floor in disgust, - And you know what's worse? Before you arrived, they made me a promise to take my son here with next shuttle, - Gibbens clenched his teeth, still looking at Carl with a fiery eyes, - And what they told me week ago? "Sorry, we can't make it happen", - Gibbens tried to move, but Carl quickly pointed his pistol towards him, stopping Gibbens on the spot, - Dealing with you would open a vacant position, so my son could be here, with me, instead of being light years in some shithole. But, boy, I underestimated you...fucking smartass.

\- I have a few friends who gave me good advices, - said Carl, holding pistol tight in his palm, - And I was about to tell you how I repaired cameras and machinery here just yesterday, because I forgot to make a report.

\- Sup, - suddenly behind Gibbens appeared several marines, including Grizzly, who were holding batons in their hands, - So, what do we have here? Assaulting, killing attempt, tampering with cameras…, - Grizzly counted by her fingers, watching as other marines picked Gibbens from the floor, cuffing his hands behind his back, - And maybe other stuff. Big C, you fine?

\- Yeah, just shaking and sweating like hell.

\- Adrenaline, it will wear off soon. Let's move this gent to the locals, shall we?

The trial was a short one – everything was caught on several cameras, indicating Gibbens's guilt. Carl's self-defense was justified fully as well as his actions during the confrontation, so he wasn't persecuted despite his fears. It was now clear – tensions in the colony were only rising, because how many Gibbens's were out there? How many tried to bring their relatives along with them to this colony, only to find out that they can't? And how many were depressed because people here were disconnected from their relatives not just for year-two, but sometimes decades? It wasn't a problem for a lone colonists like Carl or someone who signed life-time contract, but part-workers were, basically, fucked.

That's what Carl told doctor Warren during medical examination:

\- That's true. I signed a life-time, and don't complain much – just wish it could be warmer in my quarters, - he was examining Carl's inner side of the palm, which contacted with the pipe. Despite the protective gloves, he burned himself when he touched it in a fight,- Nothing to worry about, by the way, you just need to apply this gel three times a day with a bandage. I will apply one right now, watch closely and learn how to bandage yourself, - as Warren said, he began to grease Carl's burns with gel and apply bandages over it.

\- Can I work?

\- Just how you see yourself working with one hand? - Warren chuckled a bit. He took a pile of bandages and a big sealed tube, moving it closer to Carl with a special white container, - You need rest, kid, that's for sure. And probably I need some rest too – you are not the only one who suffered this week.

\- What, people are getting crazy?

\- We all crazy, you know that? There is no example of a sane person, - Warren typed several commands on the terminal and looked back to Carl, - But this is really strange. If you was like some average colonist, you wouldn't notice the patterns. Come here, - Warren waved Carl to come closer, and soon young engineer was behind Warren's chair, looking at the monitor with a brief information displayed about some colonist, - Here is example of Diana Lang, specialist in atmospheric engineering. She was attacked by another atmospheric engineer Peter Dallas. They were working together for a long time, and all of sudden violence happened between those two.

\- Why so sudden?

\- Apparently, mister Dallas was ready for promotion, - Warren typed another set of commands, accessing records about Dallas, - And engineer Lang was his subordinate...so, all of sudden, before the attack miss Lang got Dallas's promotion with increased salary.

\- Someone provoked Dallas, because he wanted this promotion and he knew he can get it, - said Carl, placing pieces together, - As someone provoked Gibbens to attack me by delaying his son's arrival here...and they both are Company employes.

\- Someone could describe it as "staff adjustment policy", - nodded Warren, - And it's looking exactly like this, with the exception of also targeting people that were on the verge of violence.

\- So someone makes right pushes to bring those people over the edge, - reasoned Carl further, - And makes those people fight each other. But what the point in doing this?

\- You have a better question to ask yourself – were you the in the list of targets or the list of distractions?

* * *

\- I think we can finally speak about competition of phase one, - proudly announced Emmerich in observation room to both his team and Pierce's, - In one month we reduced number of potential candidates down to two subjects. What we need to do right now is a final test...doctor Pierce, - Emmerich turned directly to her, - Since you were main designer of "Pavlov", do you have any suggestions for final test?

\- I do, - nodded Pierce, - I already set in motion plan with subject five, but we have some problem with subject two. I need help from your team and your influence over colony administration to make this test happen.

Pierce thought that she won this one long round with Emmerich, because she was betting on a right person. Emmerich knew Pierce's bet too, and despite his attempts, he was losing right now against her. But, again, he wasn't surprised losing at the start of the race, since he already won it. Pierce made his victory even better, without knowing it, because she was too much occupied with the thoughts of game and escaping to see major picture.

And Emmerich wanted to stay things like they are. He will let her win, just so she could be crushed with defeat later.

\- You will have it, doctor Pierce. Object A, - director pushed the button again, calling the creature inside containment unit, - We will proceed to final test. You will have several days to rest and think over, - releasing the button, director couldn't help but smile, - I like when it is cooperative, it makes everything much easier. Doctor Pierce, I want your plan at my desk by tomorrow morning.

* * *

\- Sup, big C, - Grizzly suddenly jumped from the top of APC, startling Carl a bit, - We finally have a mission outside.

\- That repair thingy you scared me with several weeks ago?

\- Yup. Here's your orders, - Grizzly showed him some papers, which Carl took, placing toolbox on the ground, - Apparently some guys wanted you to lead engineering team of rookies. They said something like "learning by example", - Grizzly snorted with irritation, - And no, the Company suddenly wanted as nearly all engineers to their objects, leaving just several, you included, to administration and USCM.

\- ...that doesn't sound suspicious at all, - sarcastically remarked Carl, reading papers, - ...we have to go that far?

\- Like you said – it doesn't sound suspicious at all. So we are gonna take not so suspicious weapons for that absolutely not suspicious mission, since we still have to escort you there.

The constant presence of USCM platoons was due to several factors. First of all, hostile alien wildlife. Carl wasn't outside of the colony on the surface, but he knew from prospectors and researchers that it was very dangerous place – not only giant worms that could make colony fall down, but some hungry and aggressive creatures were roaming mountains and ice plains. Nothing that marines couldn't handle, but going outside without marine's support was equal to suicide. Second, since it was mining stuff from moon's and planet itself, it had some real value. No one wants this planet go riot and stop trading with Network, so marines are here to ensure planet's allegiance. And finally, marines were here because of their training grounds in nearby systems – most of the marines just finished camps and were relocated here to gather experience in harsh conditions.

And Carl could swear, their assignment was a tough one. Atmospheric generator can't provide air to whole planet, only to colony and several research sites, so there were several borders where air started to drop. The further you go – less breathable air around, and at some point they need to wear respiration masks with air canister on top of all gear they already wear. That wasn't fun, since Carl already experienced with Delta's running around with full gear and oxygen tanks.

But Carl was puzzled with sudden change of engineering shifts. As Warren said, he should ask himself a question in which list he is right now – list of targets of Company or list of distractions and collateral damage. Something fishy was going on around him, and Carl understood one thing clearly – he didn't have all pieces to put them into one picture. He tried to stay calm, despite the growing feel of dread over him. Sure, he had some backup from Delta's, but they can't fight with lawyers and such, for example.

\- What the actual fuck is going on? - asked Carl himself in a low voice, staring at the mirror in his bathroom, - What should I do?

He probably was in wrong place in wrong time, and his five-year contract hold a lot of power over Carl. He can't just put fedora on his head and start investigating, no...he need to stay alive, to be cautious, and stay near people he trusted. Carl sighed and walked out from bathroom, preparing for sleep. With that mood he didn't even opened bartered smut magazine that kept him entertained every night.

When the time came for expedition, Carl was in one room with the head of engineering department and first lieutenant of Delta platoon. Since communication towers were both property of local administration and Wey-Yu, they cooperated to maintain them. But, of course, Wey-Yu pulled some strings to make Carl responsible for this particular repair operation, granting him authority over small engineer team. On another day Carl could say that he was so good at fixing stuff that he got some sort of promotion, and that could be a good thing...on another day. Instead Carl was very tensed, since he still didn't have any clue what was going on around him.

He spent some hours inside the office, planning everything out just to be sure that everyone will come back and with success. Three days later Carl took his engineers to Delta's and proceeded with briefing for both marines and rookies:

\- We have a job to make repairs and improvements on communication tower Zeta, - started Carl when everybody calmed down, - We taking snowmobiles, two marines and two engineers in one vehicle, and head straight to the tower. Weather report isn't optimistic, we should expect heavy storm in the area within eight hours, and also we should expect local wildlife in the area – they were sighted by scout teams. Two marines, two engineers, always on radio and never split up. That's mostly for you, - Carl throw a glance to his team.

\- Yeah, and if you have any funny ideas of fooling around, you can show it up your ass, boys, - added Steiner, who decided to help Carl with briefing and quickly gain authority over engineer team, - Because out there there's no time for foolishness, got it? - after hearing discordant "Yes sir" from the engineering team, Steiner nodded to Carl, - I think that's it. One hour to prepare and we leaving.

Local snowmobiles were large vehicles, able to transport five people at a time – two in the front and three in the back. But since they needed to take fuel, supplies, resources, tools and other materials, Steiner had an idea to fill one of the seats with extra luggage. They sure have to take more snowmobiles, but they can carry more stuff, that was major plus. In one hour they already packed everything Carl got from local requisition, put even some more on the snowmobiles, and after a while they left Delta's headquarters. First they will need to push snowmobiles to the elevator, which will lift them up to the planet's surface. Despite his best attempts, Carl sensed his heart beating like a drummer under too much energetics – it was not only his first expedition on the surface, but also because he couldn't stop thinking about that weird situation.

\- Goggles on, earphones on, - commanded Steiner. Carl came back to his senses and put protective goggles on his eyes, also turning earphones on and covering his head with thick warm hood.

The wind on the planet made speech almost useless, and also talking during low temperatures could lead to bronchitis and other illness. Goggles helped to keep eyes safe since wind carried ice and some sort of crystals, which could damage eyes from high-speed flight. When finally platform rose to the surface, Carl was thankful for earphones – the wind was thundering as fuck, even through earphones with sound dampeners. They slowly got to their places in snowmobiles and left the platform, navigating via lamp posts and crude computer generated map, integrated in all vehicles via monochrome display. While Carl was sitting in the back of snowmobile, he was trying to capture everything he could about the surface.

And there were sights to behold. Massive dark-blue wastelands, giant ice formations that were stretched and twisted, large holes going underground probably for miles...and they were alone in here. No animals, no nothing for miles away, only eight snowmobiles traveling through wind and snow. They were heading to the mountain on the horizon, where Zeta tower was located, and when Carl put binoculars to see it better, he couldn't help but say:

\- Fucking damn it!

\- Kiddo, what you just saw? - cracked Steiner's voice in Carl's ears.

\- I think some wildlife got inside, take a look, - Carl reached Steiner and gave him binoculars, - See? Windows are broken and protective shutters are up, and I think they trashed some terminals a little.

\- Well, boys and girls, get ready for action, because big C was right – I just saw some "crackers" on the ground floor.

"Crackers" were very dangerous – they were some sort of local wolves, hunting in packs, killing of old animals and fighting with invaders when they threatened their homes. They were around two meters long with four legs, strong enough to broke several bones in human body from a single punch, and horizontal long mouth, full of sharp teeth and muscles to tear arm off without any effort. If that wasn't enough, they possessed dark-blue fur, which they used as camouflage for sudden ambushes. Carl also remembered that marines and colonists called them "crackers" - when those beasts bark they make some sort of husky cracking sound, and hearing that sound was a bad sign. Once they spot a prey, they will chase it for a long periods of time, barking louder than wind and getting other "crackers" attention. Human colonization drove away many beasts, even mighty giant worms couldn't handle what scientific divisions invented for repelling them...and still, "crackers" had encounters with colonists from time to time during long exploration trips, and most of the time those encounters ended up with someone becoming one limb less.

That was not in Carl's routine for today.

\- OK, let's do it by a book. Steiner, check behind the structure with your team, - they were commanding by sergeant Willis, who was looking like he came from motivational poster – badass, hardcore, got some reputation from local women. Carl met him only several times, and he remembered how determined this bald man was, - Rooks, front door, - Grizzly nodded and signaled hew squad to move, - Volkov, with me, we are going to defend this position. Simmons, make those engineers moving to center.

Sergeant made right tactical decision – with help from Dmitri and other marines they quickly surrounded themselves with snowmobiles, making a circle. Inside the circle were engineers, protected from all sides by marines with pulse rifles armed.

\- Yeah, there's movement, three...no, five targets, - grunted Steiner on the radio. Carl could see only Grizzly at the front door with her squad ready to go, - Rooks, your door ready?

\- Ready.

\- On my mark. One...two...three!

One of the Grizzly's marines opened door with some sort of hacking tool, and both teams came inside. Shortly after Carl heard muffled noises of pulse rifles, and soon he heard typical combat chatter:

\- Two down, three to go! Rooks, upstairs.

\- On it. You two, up the stairs, you two – close the doors and cover the exits.

\- There's a cellar level here. Simmons?

\- It's with air pipes, coming from atmos, - quickly responded Carl, - You should check it, because those pipes are wide enough for them to crawl into.

\- Do it, Steiner, - commanded sergeant, - Rooks?

\- They ran to second floor, we are cutting them out. The only escape they have…

Suddenly Carl saw what escape "crackers" had – they literally jumped from the top floor towards their position. But they didn't have a chance, since as soon as their paws touched ice, a barrage of bullets shredded "crackers" to small pieces, ripping their limbs off and opening their insides with lots of dark blood, spilling everywhere on the ice.

\- ...that's were the last one, no movement, - sighed Grizzly with relief, waving to Carl and other marines from the top floor, - We clear.

\- Steiner?

\- Cellar is clear, security grates are on, no signs of those things crawling inside the pipe.

\- Now we can move in, - Willis grinned with a triumph, - Simmons, get those poor lads moving in five, we need to put snowmobiles into garage.

* * *

Communication tower was a large complex with lots of automated remote systems. Some people previously were working here for week-long shifts, but "cracker" attacks put end to this practice for the time being. Those towers were designed to be operated with a small teams of four-five men, with a small rooms to live in and every needs for long shifts. When Carl entered the tower with other engineers, he went pale from the state of everything around him – exposed sparking wires, machinery being torn down by bullets or claws, malfunctioning doors, and most importantly:

\- ...this, - Carl pointed to giant radar dish on the computer simulated blueprint, - Primary broadcast system. It looks fine, but something broke all connections from it to processors on the ground floor, which means it's not just a cosmetic repairs anymore. You also – sorry, it's fact – landed shots in several terminals, which is manageable. But this…this could take long.

\- How long? - asked Willis impatiently.

\- Ten to twelve hours. With luck.

\- Christ…, - sighed Grizzly with irritation, - Not again.

\- I hate when history repeats itself, - grumbled Dmitri, looking at Carl, - But that's more to it, right?

\- Yeah...initially those towers were connected to processor so people here would have constant supply of fresh air. But we still wearing masks here, due to low oxygen level, which is strange, since there must be good amounts of air.

\- Maybe they stopped pumping air inside since they ended shifts here? - suggested Steiner.

\- First, it's not just air, it's way of releasing excess pressure from the atmos. New processors are so efficient, that they produce too much air and suffer from storing excess amounts of it, - explained Carl, - So, if we do not have air here, either pipes are damaged, which is noticeable...or the air is pumped to another place. And second, I was warned that we need oxygen tanks only for trips back and forth, not inside the structure, - Carl lightly smashed his fist on the table with a blueprint, - They fucking assured me that air supply is constant here, and previous teams had it.

\- OK, so we do not have here air supply, - summarized Willis, - How many oxygen tanks we have? And for how long?

\- Not much, - sighed Steiner, - Two tanks per person for four hours each. It will be enough to work for some time and travel back, though.

\- Maybe we can send someone for more tanks and report that fuckery with air, - said sergeant, rubbing his chin, - OK, Volkov – take four snowmobiles and get back to the colony, get as much oxygen tanks as you can load, report that shit gone south. Get ready in five.

\- On it, - Dmitri quickly gathered his gear and walked out from the room.

\- Simmons, do you need anything from the colony?

\- Already wrote it, - Carl searched his pocket to pass the paper with lots of positions to sergeant, - Some damage is repairable with what we brought, but not all of it.

\- Let's get to it.

Everyone with a brain larger than a peanut already knew – someone was fucking with them, because their troubles didn't end. Just after the meeting some engineers and marines reported their oxygen tanks malfunction, and Carl with sergeant had to put them in reserve. Since there was only one tank left for unlucky one's, they would last on it for four hours providing they breath correctly, so they had to put those people on the top floor in lying position. And, of course, this wasn't the end of their troubles.

Storm hit them in the next hour. It had such strength that a fully geared marine would be blown away in an instant, and that meant one thing for certain – Dmitri will not come until storm moves further. They quickly hid radar dish underground and lowered protective shutters, sealing themselves inside the complex, which was moaning from the force it tried to withstand. Going outside was not an option, but this complex had transitions between structures, thanks to smart builders. And since all remaining engineers were working at some basic repairs, Carl was inspecting oxygen tanks closely.

\- Found anything? - asked Steiner, who was nearby Carl with another marine from his fireteam.

\- It appears that they had a leakage in a regulator, but that doesn't make any sense – we were checking them along with the masks and tubes, - Carl tousled his hair with, trying to concentrate, - But one think I know for sure – they all malfunctioned at the same time, I just can't find why this happened.

\- Think Company done something to them?

\- I guess, that's the only explanation I have right now. Maybe it was some sort of microexplosion, or it was acid inside a small container which dissipates in contact with air...honestly, I don't know.

\- Well, I suggest you to do not waste your time with those things and conserve air, - said Steiner, checking his surroundings with troubled glare, - We already fucked, and we don't to be fucked more.

Two hours passed. As Carl remembered, they were traveling here for nearly hour and half, which means that if Dmitri will not arrive in thirty minutes, they have to share half of their reserve oxygen tanks with those unlucky people, providing them two more hours of oxygen supply. When thirty minutes mark passed, and storm was still raging outside, Willis commanded to share oxygen supplies. Now time was really running out.

Carl was in garage with one of his assistant accompanied by Steiner and Grizzly. While marines were on guard, Carl and his assistant were checking and repairing snowmobiles, since it was the only ticket out of here. They weren't talking anymore, only making silent gestures to understand each other. Since Dmitri took half of the snowmobiles, they have only remaining four to worry about. Five seats times four vehicles equals twenty people, which wasn't enough to carry all of them, since there were twenty eight remaining in complex. Of course they will try to figure something out, but if the storm will not leave soon, they going to die in a very slow and unpleasant way.

Something suddenly hit the roof. Carl froze with a wrench in his hand, looking up with other people inside the garage. Suddenly there were more sounds of roof being hit by something, and then something was slowly crawling on it in slow circles. Steiner and Grizzly waved Carl and his assistant to relocate closer to the corner of garage and take cover behind repaired snowmobile. The noise on the roof continued, heading to the transition corridor between main complex and garage...and suddenly it stopped. Grizzly and Steiner turned safety switch on their pulse rifles off, slowly getting inside the transition corridor.

When the door suddenly closed and bolts clicked, cutting Steiner and Grizzly from garage, Carl understood one thing – he was in the list of targets. Because right after that garage doors slowly rose up, letting "cracker" inside.

 **PS:**

 **Sorry for the cliffhanger.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's note:**

 **So, over 300 views already. This chapter took longer because of my work and because New Year is slowly approaching.**

 **There was a commentary about "action needed". It will be, here and there, in small quantity, because story comes first and action comes later, but big major action sequences are inevitable in this story. And there was a commentary about how God awful I am at English and that "dashes are bad". Dashes will stay, it's the style I am used to write in, and my English will be better with each chapter. I hope.**

 **And also I am showing you Her, finally. And yes, this chapter raises many questions again, just have patience, because nearly everything will have answers in due time.**

 **Enjoy. New chapter will be one day.**

* * *

\- Fuck, Carl! - shouted Steiner, who rushed to the door and tried to open it with Grizzly, - Damn it, it's bolted down!

\- I know, and garage doors are open, - Carl said in low voice, watching creature from the cover, - One "cracker" got inside.

\- Listen, those fuckers have thermovision, - Grizzly took our her motion sensor, which was beeping constantly, - Jesus fuck...and they have a good hearing, but right now the storm will help you, if you will keep yourself down, - Grizzly pat Steiner on the shoulder and pointed to the other side of transition corridor, - Now listen to me – turn your radio off, try to grab the rifle from the snowmobiles trunk and keep yourself out of their sight, we will get you soon. Do it.

\- Radio off, - said Carl to his assistant, who was just eighteen year old boy, - And keep it quiet, I need to think.

\- O-okay, - boy nodded, but Carl was concerned if he will keep it cool.

As for Carl, he was already panicking – cold sweat was on his entire spine and was dropping from the forehead, his hands were shaking and heart was beating like industrial hammer. He wasn't so brave as he wanted, but he was brave enough to do what he have to. Grizzly was smart, Carl had to admit it – if he was alone in this situation, he probably wouldn't done anything to save himself. Carl tried to keep Grizzly's words in his head – stay hidden, get a rifle, wait for marines...and do not forget his assistant who was outright frightened. Looking around, Carl was trying to find anything useful, and soon he was covering his assistant with a strong looking white canvas.

\- Now cover yourself and don't move, - whispered Carl, reaching fire extinguisher on the wall nearby. With a quick glance on the label Carl nearly sighed with relief – it was carbon dioxide, which had a discharge of minus seventy degree Celsius, - I will make you invisible to them, but they still could hear you when nearby, just keep calm and breathe normally, - his hand found out his portable soldering iron and roll of blue duct tape.

This plan he had in mind was insane, but it still could provide him a chance of leaving this garage alive. Carl quickly activated soldering iron and pressed duct tape to activation button, gumming the button tightly. After that he threw soldering iron away from his cover, and this worked – the beast targeted it and followed, growling dangerously. Meanwhile Carl opened fire extinguisher and released it's contents unto canvas, trying to use what seconds he head before creature will eventually turn away from the tool, distracted by extinguisher sounds. Carl was turning his head to the creature, that was confused both by sounds nearby and the strong heat from the tool.

He never was afraid like this in his entire life. Even if he had to work on dangerous sites, he still had protective gear and instructions on how to behave on the sites, what to do and what not, where you need to run, where you need to stay put. He had some encounters that could actually killed him, but they were quick, Carl sometimes didn't even had time to be scared. But this was a constant threat, and he knew – this beast won't grant him merciful quick death, it will be long and painful one. His pneumatic pistol would only irritate it, nothing more, and replacement weapons were inside trunks in secured containers.

Basically, he was fucked from the moment he opened fire extinguisher.

* * *

\- I must say, his approach is very...interesting.

Emmerich and Pierce were watching the same feed that creature was watching inside her containment cell. In observatory room on the terminals and panels were lots of scribbled papers, folders with numbers on their front side and lots of magnetic tapes. Both director and doctor were looking tired, since they had little to no sleep for the last several weeks.

\- Subject two demonstrates interesting adaptation abilities, and willingness to risk his life for life of another. He could easily leave his assistant, or use him as a bait to buy himself more time...but he choose this path.

\- Subject five completed the test, - suddenly said Pierce, who was looking at her monitor, - Video is already transferred.

\- Play it on monitor five, doctor.

Inside the containment unit right in front of creature were five large panel monitors. One of them was transmitting real-time video of a man, who was using fire extinguisher on the canvas with a person hidden under it. Creature was looking right at this monitor and payed little attention when last monitor started to transmit another video.

\- Object A, will you take a look to another screen? - asked Emmerich. When he saw creature nodding her head horizontally, he asked again, - You want to watch only subject two? - after seeing creature nodding positively, Emmerich put a cold smile on his face and continued, - If you refuse to watch other subject, I consider that you made your choice. Remember – whoever you choose, other person will be eliminated, as I stated before. So, A...do you refuse to watch subject five?

Pierce tried to stay calm, as many other scientists in the observatory room. They were waiting for the response from the creature, that stayed motionless for what felt like eternity.

* * *

When Carl heard a low growl from behind, he quickly turned around, still spraying contents of fire extinguisher on front of him. The cold carbon dioxide stream, as Carl hoped, could obscure creature's heat vision capability, and it actually worked – "cracker" was pretty much confused at started to walk backwards, hitting shelves, snowmobiles and other equipment. When creature backed up far enough, Carl dropped his fire extinguisher, dashing towards the heating system. It was getting cold inside the garage, and the storm was still outside, blowing away anything near door that wasn't bolted to the floor. They already lost some items and tools, but it didn't matter right now – that creature inside the garage was not good at hearing Carl, since even Carl himself was on the edge of losing his hearing, despite protective earphones. So the creature mostly will rely on it's vision, which could be obscured by low or high temperatures. If Carl could apply carbon dioxide to his protective gear and stay motionless, the creature wouldn't even see him in a plain field. But he didn't have much time to do that, and the only way to survive was to rise temperature in the garage.

First of all, he turned on the heat to the maximum level pipes could hold – plus thirty degrees. It wouldn't much of a help since the garage doors were open, letting cold wind inside it, but still in can increase his chances somehow. Secondary, Carl opened trunk of the nearby snowmobile, taking out a fuel canister. What he had in mind was totally insane – he closed the oxygen canister's regulator on his back and held his breath for some time, while he was removing protective coat. He strapped again oxygen canister, watching creature closely, as it was still confused and tried to remove the white layer from it's ice left by carbon dioxide. Turning regulator on, Carl started to breathe again, and he quickly soaked his protective coat with a fuel. Reaching strong looking metal pipe from nearby rack, Carl put protective coat on the pipe and placed it in the corner near him. Inside his tool-belt was a package of storm matches, which could work in extreme low temperatures and storms, hence the name. Carl stroke a match from the package and threw burning match right to his coat, setting it on fire.

Creature slowly growled, moving it's head towards burning coat, and started to approach it slowly. Carl was trying to stay out of creature's sight, moving slowly while ducking behind racks and snowmobiles. Slowly reaching the trunk of a nearby snowmobile, Carl opened it and found a large protective case, which he pulled from the trunk, still watching the creature. His diversion was working, but not as good as he thought – "cracker" burned his paw from the contact with burning fuel and was uttered high pitched cracking noises from his throat, while trying to stop the fire on his paw. Eventually beast knocked down several rack near him and got under the massive debris...which made creature face Carl and spot him. Carl didn't saw it's eyes, but he surely understood that creature saw him as "cracker" was trying to free itself from the debris while growling with a hateful low voice.

He really didn't had much time. Carl was in pure terror, as he was trying to open protective case with his shaking cold hands to no avail. The beast, though, soon was free from the fallen racks and it was slowly walking towards Carl, who had nowhere to run – behind him was a storm which will kill young engineer, and there was no place to run or hide. He even lost part of his nail during rushed opening of the rifle case, and when he finally got rifle in his hands, he forgot to turn safety catch. Rifle clicked, and Carl's heart nearly stopped at this moment, as he was looking in the slowly opening maw of the "cracker", full of sharp teeth.

But suddenly beast stopped in a mere meter from trembling engineer. It suddenly rose it's head and slowly walked outside from the garage. Now Carl knew, how it survived the storm – "crackers" had some hell of a claws, which they were using to drive them into ice. When beast finally disappeared, Carl dropped rifle from his hands and closed his eyes, trying to not pass out from the pressure. As the door clicked again, marines got inside, helping Carl and his assistant and closing garage shutters, but Carl wasn't thinking and his body felt numb. Grizzly and Steiner covered Carl with reserve coat and moved him inside control tower.

After one hour Carl, Grizzly, Steiner and Willis were on the ground floor near table with computer blueprint of the complex:

\- One engineer dead, one MIA, two marines injured, one in coma, - sergeant Willis was very tired and injured too, medics were still patching him up, - And we shot several more consoles during firefight, along with some pipes all over the place. Steiner?

\- We killed off some of those fuckers, but "crackers" tried to pull dead one's into the storm. We still got some corpses intact, Grizzly reacted fast, - Steiner was injured too, but slightly – he had a bandage over his head.

\- It wasn't their usual behavior, sarge, - continued Grizzly after Steiner. She was fine, except for a few scratches on her armor and coat, - I was in hunting parties for a long time, and they never pulled their dead one's from us.

\- And I have explanation to that, if I may, - asked Carl in low voice. He still was shocked after what happened in the garage, but with Grizzly's help (slap to the face) he quickly got to work.

\- Go on, Simmons, - Willis nodded.

\- First, I found several hidden camera's inside this complex, - Carl threw one of those on the table, so everyone could see it, - They were placed recently and were transmitting video feed all the time we were here. The doors in garage had remote controlled circuit board, which activated bolts to cut Steiner and Grizzly from me and open shutters, - Carl threw another evidence on the table, - And as I suspected, we found those inside "crackers", - now Carl carefully placed some sort of long narrow circuit board, - Hypodermic implants of unknown custom design. As far as I can tell, it can generate sonic waves and electric pulses, which could explain sudden change of "crackers" behavior.

\- So we were some kind of test subjects?

\- Probably. But they pulled off, and most importantly, we got air running down the pipe. I do not think Dmitri convinced them to do this exactly when fight was over.

\- Fucking Company, - said Willis with such hatred, that Carl shivered from it, - They can eat shit with any story they will try to feed us. Simmons, local camera's were recording this?

\- They were, - nodded Carl, - It was the first thing I ordered to repair, along with recording devices.

\- Here's the plan – as soon as storm passes, we packing up everything and retreat, because I had it with those motherfucking "crackers" and experiments, - Willis removed sweat from his forehead, glancing quickly at closed body bag, - We get all evidence we had and let suits do their thing.

* * *

Of course it wasn't easy. Carl suspected that Company will have better lawyers and probably had some people in their pockets. But when lawyers stated that evidence were "lost", Carl and other marines were really pissed off. They never got to the truth, and without evidence there were only copy of the security feed that Carl made right after their arrival, but that's it. Company won again, and there was nothing they could do about it.

It was two weeks after the incident at communication tower when suddenly Company initiated part of his contract to relocate Carl from the main colony to one of their many science divisions. They got their own power, but air was transmitted to them by giant pipes from the atmospheric generator, and science personnel were living apart from the colonists. No USCM, no local administration, no nothing, Wey-Yu only.

\- They will have full authority over me, - Carl frowned, packaging his belongings. It was last hour before his departure, and Grizzly came to Carl's quarters along with Steiner and Dmitri, - I don't fucking like it. When I signed this contract I thought to work without that shit that people are talking about, - Carl closed his bag, trying on calm himself down.

\- Hey, kiddo, you won't disappear so easily, - Grizzly slightly pushed Carl to the shoulder in a comforting manner, - We all won't let this happen.

\- There are lots of marines you can count on, kid. No one likes the shit Company pulls here, and after what happened they won't do something really stupid, - said Steiner with a concerned expression on his face.

\- Unless they have other plans, - continued Dmitri, - Listen to what happens around you and do not let your guard down, you are going inside the pit full of snakes.

Soon Carl was inside the multipurpose exploration vehicle, capable of traversing nearly anything and capable of host inside at least ten people with all the equipment. Carl wasn't the only one going to the research complex, and there were some boxes inside large trunk. Soon the vehicle with several PMC's and other people departed, traversing through the dark-blue ice and snow. Carl didn't like the Company's PMC, since they were even more hardcore than marines, wearing expensive armor and much better weapons. Carl felt abandoned – he made a good friends out there in the colony, and now he was all by himself, traveling into unknown with strangers. They were traveling for nearly two hours, and when driver announced that they are near their destination, Carl took a look from the window just to be shocked.

\- You kidding me…

They were driving on the edge of the giant chasm. Deep down Carl saw a giant metal dome that was covered in snow a bit. All around the inner side of this chasm were giant elevators, capable of holding several APC's on one platform. They were approaching one of the many elevators, and soon enough they were slowly descending. Carl guessed right – when he saw several structure components inside the walls of ice chasm and dozens of holes all over the walls, he knew where they were heading.

First colony on Tenga 4. With awe he observed frozen holes, measuring their diameter from afar. The most smallest hole he saw was three meter in diameter, while the largest one was nearly ten meters, which made Carl shiver a bit. Those worms were dormant now and were driven away from the colony by a complex system of seismic and sonic emitters, so they were not a problem anymore. But still...the destruction was just immense, and Carl felt very uneasy to descent into the place where hundreds lives were lost. And Carl didn't understand why Company made a research center right here, at the bottom of the chasm? What did they find down here, in the ice?

His questions, though, could wait – elevator suddenly stopped and their vehicle slowly moved forward, right towards opening gates. Those gates were no joke – a nearly meter of reinforced steel, it could protect complex against ice falls and other hazards with ease. On the other side of opened gates was a some sort of hangar bay with several vehicles stored and personnel walking around, repairing stuff or doing other jobs. When they finally stopped, one of the PMC's commanded Carl to leave vehicle, and soon Carl was walking with his escort through the facility. Of course he didn't saw what the science teams were doing, since they were located probably somewhere else, and all that Carl could see is people walking around, doing their business. There were lots of PMC's here, wearing the same advanced armor with Company logo on their chest carapace, and this wasn't a good sign – he worked on the science objects before, but never in his life he saw so many security forces in one place. Whatever they were doing here, the security was tight here, with lots of protocols and other things.

Finally Carl was escorted to the door in one of the many smaller corridors inside the facility. But when door slowly opened, revealing what was behind it, Carl had only one questions:

\- ...the fuck is this?

It wasn't his quarters as he presumed, it was some sort of maintenance compartment, and a giant one, with so many corridors he could actually get lost in here. Carl's guards suddenly pushed him inside the shaft, taking his bag away and closing the door right in front of his nose. Looking around, Carl noticed several cameras in the hard to reach spots and corners, with speakers all over the place.

\- One-two-three, system check...mister Simmons, can you face one of the cameras and say something? - suddenly Carl heard a voice of a possibly old man all over the place.

\- One-two-three, - said Carl loudly, facing the camera in the corner of the room. He wanted to play it cool, no point to piss someone off who got you by the balls.

\- Ah, good, all systems ready, let's get to introduction. My name is Pol Emmerich, director of this facility, - the voice continued, and Carl was paying attention to it closely, - Sorry for the rough attitude of our security forces, but it was necessary. Now...as your contract states, the Company have full authority in the matters of your transfer to other facilities and making you work directly for Weyland-Yutani. Of course we had to pay some money for USCM and local administration, since we you will not work for them anymore, buy we also increased your salary for compensation, as your contract states.

\- Will I ever see my salary, director? - asked Carl, trying his best to stay calm. He was boiling inside with rage, and was ready to send this crazy person to fuck himself.

\- Maybe. I won't lie you now, mister Simmons, because we had to understand our terms with each other, - one of the speakers cracked and suddenly stopped working, which made Emmerich sigh with frustration, - Old models, how I hate those things...anyway, back to the topic. You are alone, mister Simmons, there is really no one who will watch over you. Your friends from Delta platoon will be relocated soon from this system, we also prepared money for the labor union in case of your...accidental death during complex repairing, - Carl clenched his fists from every word Emmerich said, since it was getting worse by the second, - And no one will really search for you or address your sudden disappearance to mass-media, since you made no powerful friend and you do not have a family. That was the reason Company allowed you to take the job here...one of the many, since you already proved to be excellent engineer and survivor.

\- What do you want of me? - Carl said in low angry voice, facing the camera.

\- Participation in our grand experiment. But I can guess you already deduced that you were one of the many participants.

\- Yeah, I am not that stupid. You made a lot of work to cover everything and make some moves I clearly can't understand fully...but you were experimenting, somehow.

\- True, - agreed director, nodding on the other side of the camera and watching Simmons closely, - We were experimenting on you and several other subjects, and our test now in it's final stage. What we need you to do now, is to complete it.

\- Which will lead only to another set of tests, because you will not let me leave, right? - asked Carl, who was tensed down to his core.

\- Of course. Will you resist?

\- You will just kill me and find another one. I have to comply.

\- I knew you are a man of reason, mister Simmons. I guess that kind of behavior deserves a reward...you can ask me a question, and I will try my best to answer it.

\- What do you have in store for me?

\- Physical and psychological tests. Many of them can actually kill you, mister Simmons, and I will provide you with needed information. When you complete those tests...well, we will see. Please proceed to the corridor with white arrows on the floor.

After quick glance over the room, Carl found white arrows and followed them through tight corridors. After some over a minute of walking, Carl walked past the opened door into small square room. It was like the corridors – pipes all over the place with grated and ventilation grills, but what made this room unique, is the giant mirror and chair with straps and wires in front of the mirror.

\- On the chair you can find a manual on how you must apply all wires to the chair and your body.

\- It will send an electric current into me, - Carl frowned, picking up manual and setting the chair operational.

\- Small currents…at first. Now, strap yourself inside the chair and place your arms and legs into slots.

As soon as Carl sat himself inside the chair, it's restraints were activated, making Carl feel even more vulnerable. And what made it worse, is that he could feel already small amounts of current from the wires attached to his body.

\- The first test is simple. There is a person on the other side of this mirror, who watches you right now. It could be anyone – our PMC, engineer, it doesn't matter. What matters, it's that you and this person on the other side can hurt each other, since that person also strapped to the chair like yours. If you or that person will not hurt each other, you will hurt yourself.

\- You are very fucking insane, Emmerich! What kind of test is this?! - yelled Carl at the camera near him.

\- The test I need to conduct. Now...let's begin. Mister Simmons, you first.

\- Fucking no!

\- As you say so.

It was a brief shock, and small one in terms of power, but it made Carl shiver and groan from the sudden pain.

\- ...and another person choose not to harm you either. But I must say, mister Simmons, that with each turn we increasing power a little bit, so you will experience much worse than this. It's your turn.

\- I said – fucking no!

\- You sure?

\- Yeah, fucking sure!

And another one made Carl convulse inside the chair. He was angry and powerless, but maybe it was better than just die...or not?

\- ...and "no" again from the other person. Mister Simmons, maybe that person can tolerate increasing power of shocks, but I doubt that you can. You don't need to do something for the person you do not know.

\- I am not doing it just for the person from the other side, - Carl looked at the camera with fiery rage in his eyes, - I will not harm it because you want me to.

\- So, I consider this as negative answer?

\- Sure.

Third one hit Carl much worse and other two. He even arched in his chair for a brief second, feeling weak and stiff.

\- "No" again from the other person. I would applause you, mister Simmons, but you can actually die from this. You sure you don't want to survive? Maybe there is no person there at all, and all your bravery are for nothing?

\- Fuck...you, - it was hard for Carl to answer properly, with all strength he gathered, - I..will not...do it.

\- Suit yourself, mister Simmons.

Another current ran through his body, much more powerful and for more duration of time. He felt his bladder emptying a bit, but he really didn't care – it was expected from the shock torture. But, despite feeling weak, Carl still had some strength in him. His father would not harm other person like this, his grandfather would not do this either, and he must not succumb to Emmerich's terms. Even if it means dying in one of the worst ways possible.

\- "No" again. But I could by lying and just torture you, mister Simmons, checking your behavior and trying to find a way to break you. Will you harm the person or yourself?

\- My...myself…

\- Good. Let's continue.

* * *

\- We did it, doctor Pierce, - Emmerich smiled, looking at the doctor near him, - "Pavlov" proves to be successful.

\- We still have more tests to secure our success, director, - said Pierce as calmly as she could. It wasn't her idea to torture Simmons like this, and definitely she was not approving what was happening, but all Pierce could do right now is to watch, - And could I suggest more...mild tests? Simmons is recovering from the last one, which moved our timetable further.

\- I will think about it, doctor, - Emmerich slightly nodded, rubbing his beard, - Let's prepare another test for now...Rend, how's our new test subject? - Emmerich switched radio channels on the terminal with a quick spin of the selector wheel.

\- Fine, he was working hard for the past days, and he agreed to our offer.

\- Good. Keep me posted, we will need him soon, - Emmerich turned microphone off.

\- New test subject? Working here?

\- Ah, yes, I forgot to mention that we have new expendable subject for "Pavlov".

\- ...this is dangerous, director. We still need Simmons for the rest of the project, because we will not have another try.

\- Do not worry about our success, doctor. It was all planned well, - Emmerich's smile made Pierce shiver inside.

* * *

When Carl finally woke up, he felt like he was crushed by a train while drinking like there's no tomorrow. His usual civilian clothes were removed, with some white patients pants and shirt now on him. The room was quite small, even smaller than his colony quarters – it barely could fit white couch with white sink and toilet nearby. It was like a prison compartment.

\- Ah, you finally awake, mister Simmons, - suddenly cracked hidden dynamic with Emmerich's voice, - How are you feeling?

\- Not good, thanks to you, - growled Carl, trying to sit in the couch. When he did it, Carl noticed a small scar on his left hand, - ...you took my locator implant.

\- Of course.

\- Great...what are you going to do with me today? Water torture?

\- Oh, no-no-no, I have something much more special in mind, - Carl shivered from the director's tone a bit, - You see, last test was a success, and we need to...secure it, as my colleague stated. And we are going to do this in several minutes. Rest for now, mister Simmons, security will come to you shortly.

Carl lied back on the couch, staring into ceiling with grim expression on his face. He didn't done anything to them, so why he was chosen?...no, that's not the right question. The right question is how to escape now from this facility? It's choking with guards and security systems, whole complex located on the bottom of the chasm, and outside is hostile hazardous environment with low temperatures, hungry creatures and who knows how many kilometers of ice. He can't escape on his own from here...but someone from the inside could help, if he can find the right person and have with him just two minutes on private talk.

He have to escape. Get a vehicle, and rush to the colony with come kind of proof with him, which was another problem – what proof? When door opened, Carl quickly got up and walked outside, trying to make up a plan on the way somewhere PMC's were escorting him. And it was again the same room, where more arrows on the floor appeared. Guards pointed to the yellow arrow, and Carl walked right to it, heading to the giant door and a table with some items.

\- So, mister Simmons, here is your second test. Pick up the wireless headphones, please, - commanded Emmerich. When Carl set the headphones on his head and strapped large battery with wireless transmitter on the back of his waist, director continued inside his headphones, - And take this...pipe?

\- It's a rod.

\- Rod. Take this rod with you and enter the room, - when door opened, Carl quickly walked inside the room. It was pretty claustrophobic, with small spaces due to pipes and walls everywhere, with some steam coming from below in certain places, - So, you test is to survive, mister Simmons. We releasing the test subject inside your room as we speak, instructing it to kill you.

\- ...what?! - Carl growled in low voice, quickly taking cover behind massive pipe.

\- Do not worry, it's just a human. But we want to saw what you will do about this...problem. You see, mister Diggens is highly motivated in killing you.

\- ...how you managed to get him from the custody? - Carl started to move slowly, trying to hear what was going around him.

\- It was easy, actually, - Emmerich lowered his voice too, - We just stated that he will work for half of his salary and on low-qualified jobs, and the administration approved his transfer as a punishment. But I personally assured mister Diggens, that he can get a higher position...with his son.

\- You lied to him, - said Carl quietly, taking a peek from his cover to see massive figure of Diggens, walking around with the same rod Carl had on himself.

\- Of course not. You see, mister Simmons, only one person can leave this room – it's him or you. You will get to live and probably with a bonus, and he will get what he wants, so everyone here are motivated in completing theirs tasks.

\- Motivated my…

Suddenly Carl felt something cold pressing against his throat, trying squeeze air out of him. He reacted quickly – he took his rod in one hand while trying with other hand to struggle against rod pressing to his throat. Seeing giant fat hands on the rod what was pressed to his throat, Carl aimed his own rod on the Gibbens's fingers, who yelped from the sudden pain, releasing grip on the rod. Quickly getting up, Carl faced Gibbens, who came out from the giant pipe, rubbing his fingers with angriest expression Carl ever saw in his life.

\- Why you just can't die, huh? - Gibbens spat on the floor near him, eying Carl carefully.

\- Gibbens, I really don't wanna do this, - Carl said, panting heavily from the recent choking.

\- But I want! - Gibbens strike Carl with his rod, aiming for the vertical head strike, but Carl blocked Gibbens's attack with the rod in both hands. Carl quickly aimed his foot right to the Gibbens's balls, and when fat engineer growled from pain and moved back a little, Carl hit him right between Gibbens's eyes. It wasn't enough to take him down, of course, Carl only bought some time.

\- Dumb ass! - young engineer yelled hard at Gibbens, - Your boy comes here, and you think you can make a fortune? With them? Wake the fuck up, for fuck sake! They will use you, or your boy, or both of you in some next experiment! You fucking want that?!

\- It's better than be in that shithole, - Gibbens slowly rose up from the floor, still groaning from pain, - You have your family waiting somewhere, so you don't even…

\- Andro Seven, - Carl quickly interrupted Gibbens, - My father fucking died here, trying to stop that madman!..Mother died month's later, so yeah, I have a fucking family that waits for me somewhere! - Carl kept yelling at Gibbens, who just stood there in front of him and listened, - I have no fucking idea what is it to be lightyears apart from the father and wait for him, expecting him to die every damn time he went into space! Yeah, I am fucking happy, and of course I didn't experienced shit in my life! I fucking told you – I wouldn't miss that position because I clearly didn't give a fuck about it in the first place!

When Carl finished, he felt himself much weaker. He threw his rod on the ground and just leaned against the big pipe beside him, sliding down to the ground. Gibbens was still there, watching Carl with confused expression – he clearly didn't have that determination now.

\- I have nowhere to go, Gibbens, - Carl said with low voice, glancing at him seriously, - Nowhere. No fucking future, no fucking perspectives, no nothing. I am jumping from world to world for the past several years, trying just to fucking live a decent life. I...I can't fucking kill you, I just can't, so...do it quickly.

\- Oh, I expected much more, - suddenly said Emmerich, - Mister Gibbens, please return to your door, we will provide you a weapon, if mister Simmons wants a quick extermination.

Gibbens left Carl just for two minutes, before returning with a pistol in his hands. Carl saw, that his rival was not so sure about killing him, but what does it matter?

\- The gun have only one shot, kid, - he suddenly spoke, with much softer voice, - For you or me. I...want to ask you a questions first, - Gibbens raised his gun at Carl, clicking safety switch, - If you were in my position, what would you do?

\- ...my father one day left us on some rock for nearly a year, - Carl said, looking at the barrel of the pistol, - When he returned, he told us, that he actually could take us with him...but it was too risky and dangerous, especially when he was right and some bad shit happened on the planet. I?...dunno...probably the same.

\- Huh...you said, that you are alone, kid. What keeps you?

\- Father. He was much closer than mother, and I am trying to live by his advices. He was a good person.

\- Huh...hey, kid, - Gibbens suddenly smiled, - Do you know, where Kepler's Spire is?

\- ...yeah, I worked there for several month. Why…

\- Kepler's Spire, David Gibbens, - he quickly interrupted confused Carl, - Probably still in docking bay A2. I want you to tell him, that his father was a good person too.

When Carl realized, what is going to happen, he suddenly jumped from his place, yelling at Gibbens something. But it was too late – Gibbens took gun into his mouth, threw his head back and shot himself, spraying blood and bones all over the pipes behind him. Gibbens's body fell down to the floor, and Carl was still in shock, watching at the corpse of a man who tried to kill him just a minute ago.

\- Smart decision, - cracked dynamics with Emmerich's voice, - Now we...

\- Are you fucking done?! - Carl suddenly shouted with tears in his eyes, quickly locating the nearest camera and facing it, - You torture and killing people, asshole!

\- Mister Simmons, it's not just experiments as you thought, - continued Emmerich patiently, - It's much, much more. And we already made another move, while you were shouting...two moves, to be precise.

When Carl heard low growl behind him, he quickly dashed over Gibbens's body, trying to squeeze himself between pipes. When he was on the other side, he glanced back and saw "cracker", who was trying to put his paw between pipes. Carl forgot his rod, but it would make no difference – the beast will overpower his with ease, and there were no weapons or some items to help him. Only one thing to do – put as much distance as Carl can between him and the "cracker", while trying to forge up a plan.

...at least this what Carl thought before "cracker" appeared right in front of him and slashed Carl with his paw. "Crackers" clutches were sharp and deadly, and only by luck Carl was hit in the hip by glancing blow. Still he yelled from the pain, dropping on the floor and trying to stop the blood by covering wound with his hand, while beast was approaching him slowly. Carl was trying to crawl away from the creature, while facing it, but he suddenly bumped his spine into the wide pipe. The "cracker" was still approaching, making low cracking noises from his horrific maw.

But suddenly Carl spotted a movement behind the creature. Slowly, from the ceiling, a big black segmented tail with a sharp tip coiled down, without any noise. Then tail's tip pointed itself towards the "crackers" back and with one quick move it broke "crackers" spine. The beast, that was pretty sure about his victory, now was making sounds of pain and fear, trying to crawl away on his two paws, but tail suddenly wrap itself around rear legs, dragging "cracker" on the floor. When tail released screaming beast, it ended "cracker" suffering with one quick strike to the head, piercing it right through. "Cracker" suddenly stopped, and when tail slowly retracted from it's head while being covered in blood and brain tissues, the beast dropped on the floor without any movement. Carl, who was just watching this without any commentary, soon found himself on the edge of insanity, since the tail's owner silently and gracefully dropped from the ceiling. Because of the steam everywhere and low illumination, Carl saw only giant slim figure, which had a black obsidian skin. The figure was looking at Carl, if he didn't saw it's face or eyes, this creature was looking at him. For several seconds figure just stood there, completely motionless, before starting slowly move out from the steam and darkness to the light.

When figure finally emerged and stood before young engineer, he was shocked even more. Right before him stood...something, that was nearly two meters tall, maybe even higher. It had slim athletic build and strange body, that looked like something biomechanical...and this body was very feminine in nature and sex characteristics, which made Carl's eyes widen in disbelief. But that wasn't most important part – her head was. It was showing only mouth with closed lips in neutral position, with some sort of covering over her upper side of the head. And what made her completely alien, is her head – it was elongated and looked like crest-shield with five points on the end of the head.

\- I told you, mister Simmons – I made two moves, - said Emmerich in his earphones, - Meet object A, the real reason why are you here and why are you still alive.

* * *

 **PS**

 **The "object" and "subject" thing in Emmerich's speech is something very subtle, but will be explained too.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Author's note:**

 **First of all - as I stated in prologue and other chapter, dashes are going to stay. Period. Because this is the style I am used to write in my everyday life, that's the literature style I am aiming for. No point in - sorry - pointing dashes as bad thing since they are will accompany you till the end. Sorry, it's just how I was trained to write.**

 **Secondary - I feel this chapter rushed a bit, but decided to leave it as it is. I will think about it, some feedback would be nice too, and maybe it would be better to expand on every aspect in future chapters.**

 **And yeah. Some of you could've guessed, but I was inspired by "Astral Link" story. It's awesome in it's own way, check it if you didn't read it already.**

 **Enjoy. New chapter probably will come out soon, since I got lesser work because of New Year approaching quickly.**

* * *

Carl's mind was numb, so when he finally started to think again, he was inside large containment cell. She was sitting in front of him, a living reminder that this was not a hallucination. In the shining lights from the walls and ceiling he could see her more clearly. She definitely was human only in terms of body build, but that's it – her entire body was in some sort of smooth chitin and small tubes here and there, with clawed hands and feet that she used to leave scratches on the floor. Her eyeless face was in front of Carl, lips closed and still neutral. Carl noticed her tail lying beside her, lazily swaying it's tip around.

Clearly, he didn't know what to say or what to do. She actually saved him, that's a positive thing...but as Carl looked around containment cell, he noticed something strange – it was composed of very small white plates that could actually fit in Carl's hand. He never saw something like this before, counting the strange woman inside the cell, so he was trying to focus his mind on analyzing the environment. Two very strong looking doors, probably under current, hidden gas systems in the ceiling...well, it was very well designed to contain them both, because Carl didn't had any clue what was under those plates. Probably sensors or some other nasty shit.

\- ...thank you, - Carl said suddenly, returning his eyes to the woman again, - Don't know if you can understand me, but you saved me there, - remembering his encounter with "cracker", Carl checked his hip for a wound, but it was stitched very accurately, with bandage over stitches.

\- Oh, she can understand you, mister Simmons. That's the beauty of it, - suddenly cracked Emmerich's voice again from the dynamic inside the room. It probably was hidden under those plates, possibly with a camera's too, - But we do not know if she can talk, she never opened her mouth for talking. She prefers...other means of communication. Object A, mister Simmons, please step to the opposite side of the door.

When Carl and "A" – as Carl started to call her, while trying to get her another name – pressed theirs back against the wall, the door in front of them cracked and quickly opened, letting armed PMC's inside. They were armed with heavy tasers, aiming mostly at "A". The first line of PMC kneel, while second line was standing tall, weapons hot. Those guys were no jokes, even for her – she can kill probably several of them before they knock her down. They have to play along for now…

After a several seconds of waiting PMC's parted a bit, letting one woman inside. She was wearing a typical white coat with black pans, holding a folder inside her left hand and correcting her glasses with right hand. Carl could say she was maybe in her middle-thirty's, but maybe she was younger than it seemed – her blond hair housed several parts of gray, starting at her temples.

\- Good. "Red" squad, leave the containment unit, - demanded Emmerich. When PMC's left, bolting door down and powering it, director continued, - I will leave you now, doctor.

\- My name is Amanda Pierce, - doctor extended her hand to Carl, who after a seconds of hesitation shook her carefully, - I am here as your...supervisor.

\- My or?…

\- Both of you, - seeing confusion on Carl's face, Pierce sighed and gestured to sit down on the floor. As Carl and Pierce sat, so did the strange alien near them. Doctor checked her wristwatch, and then she nodded, - Camera's and speakers are now offline, and we can talk.

\- Offline? You mean you did it?

\- I had everything prepared for this, long before you got here, Simmons, - Pierce smiled a bit, and then she quickly continued, - You have lots of question, and I will try to explain something to you. She, - Pierce pointed to alien woman, - Is the main object of study here, but director Emmerich wasn't...happy with her attitude. He wanted to dissect her if she wouldn't comply to his tests, and I had to get my team to produce project "Pavlov" – a project that would allow us control her, or so Emmerich believed what this project will accomplish, - Pierce opened her folder and showed Carl list with several names and small photos of some people, - You were chosen right after your application for the Company, as others, by our standards of IQ level and skills. Initially I wanted all five to be alive, but Emmerich wanted much faster completion of "Pavlov".

\- So he started to make experiments on people...making their life harder, - nodded Carl, - But what for?

\- This all was transmitting into her containment chamber after some time all of you arrived, - Pierce continued, watching at her wristwatch again, - They were showing people to her, how they reacted to the world, how they spend their free time...how they behave under pressure situations.

\- Gibbens and Zeta tower, I get it, - nodded Carl again...but suddenly his face blushed with red when he asked cautiously, - ...you mean everything?

\- We had camera's hidden in your apartment, which were working twenty four – seven, - Pierce smiled again, but with a much warmer tone, - Don't worry, it's natural process for a lone male, so let's move on, - Pierce showed Carl another piece of paper, where he saw alien woman strapped to the same chair, as he was, and she was watching right at him. Carl's eyes widened when he saw it – the other person in that shock experiment was that alien woman near him, - Project "Pavlov" was quick, and she had to judge who she will abandon so other person could survive. From all the five subjects she chose you, Simmons, and it wasn't easy neither for her, - Pierce nodded towards alien woman, that was still sitting silently and watching them both, - Nor for me. I wanted you here, because you are the only one of all participants have some skills to perform escape attempt with much higher success rate than others.

\- ...so, you chose me because I can get you out of here.

\- Yes. Emmerich now believes that he can actually control her now, since he saw her reactions when you were in danger, while it was a deception, - Pierce put her glasses off the nose, watching Simmons closely with serious glare, - And we have to play that deception, if we want to escape. He wants you to develop a bond, connection, call it what you want, but you need to show him some positive results in near future.

\- I am legitimately pissed off right now, doctor, - growled Carl, who felt his anger boiling again, - And in other situation I would send you to fuck off, but you are right...I'll play along.

\- Good. Now, back to the topic...He wanted me to give you instructions, here's the folder, - Pierce took several pieces of paper from the folder and hid them inside her labcoat, - Try to establish communication with her, you will need it to survive.

\- ...but how?

\- You will see, - Pierce smiled mysteriously, - Also, this room is much larger than you think.

* * *

Carl took some time to analyze instructions Pierce left him before leaving their containment call, and he could swear that Emmerich was a smart paranoid person – he left very detailed instructions about their behavior, common routine and other procedures, such as how to operate his part of containment cell, which was hidden before. It was also smart – his quarters were small, fitting only couch, small white cupboard made of plasteel with built-in electronic clock, sink and separate shower cabin with toilet room. No visible pipes, no weak points, no nothing he could actually use. "A" followed him inside the room, bending her knees a little and keeping her head down, looking everywhere – she was really tall to fit in here.

\- Without instruments we can't break free, - grunted Carl, who was watching shower cabin for weak points, only to found none, - This is really good design, I couldn't done it better.

 _\- ...hear...me?…_

Carl felt it. It wasn't his thoughts, it sounded like it was fading...but it clearly was a female voice, inside his head. Carl looked back at alien woman, realizing that he suddenly stopped in what he was doing and that it could be suspicious to hidden cameras:

\- Perhaps we can check not the part of the room but the room itself, where it must be connected to main cell, - Carl nodded "A", and she quickly left the room, letting Carl outside. Bending his knees, he started to check on the door between his quarters and main room, - I swear I could hear something...faint, - Carl pressed his ear to the warm floor of the cell, looking right at "A".

 _\- ...you can...hear me._

\- Yeah, heard something...perhaps that room was connected with some sort of rail system, and there's humming under us, - Carl got up from the floor, looking at "A", - But this doesn't work, I mean you not talking and responding, we have to do something about it, - Carl started to rub his chin.

He was terrified. She was using a telepathy, easily invading his own mind and messing with his thoughts! He couldn't even thought for himself when she was talking, and…

 _\- ...you will...in time._

...and she also can read his mind. Great.

 _\- ...you pleased?_

She cocked her head to the side, looking at Carl with same neutral face. So, she can read minds and transmit her thoughts, and probably she can do much more. But…

\- But I think we need to start with different angle, for example, I don't know how to name you, - Carl finally broke silence, trying to calm himself down, - How about a name?… - seeing her puzzled with his question, Carl tried his best to answer, - We, humans, have unique names, to determine who is who, and mostly our parents give us names. But sometimes we choose a name for ourselves, which we feel will suit us well.

 _\- Why?_

\- I know, it's maybe complicated for you, - continued Carl after a pause, - But it would be pretty much easier for me to call you something other than "A"...and you probably wanted it too, to feel yourself unique person.

After some seconds, she sat on the floor with her legs under her body, nodding Carl slowly.

\- OK, I will try to find you a name that will actually suit you, so I will explain meaning of it, - Carl sat in front of the woman, and after the pause he started to remember some names, - How about Victoria? It means victorious.

 _\- No. I am not...right now,_ \- she nodded negatively.

\- OK...Eva? Life giving? It must not also mean something, it can be just sounds right for you.

 _\- No,_ \- she repeated her previous reaction.

\- Faith? As a name? - tried Carl again.

 _\- I...do not understand "faith"_ , - negative nod again.

\- Hmph...this is actually hard, because I do not know many names, really, - Carl rubbed his chin, trying his best to remember something. When it suddenly popped in his head, Carl look alien woman in front of him and said, - How about...Grace? It's pretty accurate, because you are graceful.

 _\- ...I like it. I will be Grace,_ \- she nodded finally, making Carl sigh with relief, _\- You pleased?_

\- Several more names and we had to improvise, because I don't know many of them, - explained Carl, - Glad to meet you, Grace, name's Carl...and thanks again for saving me here, - Carl extended his hand towards her, - It's our common tradition, we shake our hands.

 _\- I know. You_ _explain it to them_ _,_ \- she slowly extended her hand.

When she touched Carl, he felt shivers running on his spine. She was very smooth to the touch, powerful and gentle at the same time. With such strength she could break his bones with no sweat, and that also made Carl uneasy.

 _\- You afraid of me._

\- Don't get me wrong, you just feel so strong...much stronger than I will ever be, - Carl slowly tried to break their shake, but Grace suddenly was holding Carl's hand in her grasp tightly, - It's scary, if you want honest answer from me.

 _\- I watched you. Long,_ \- Grace took engineer's other hand in her clawed palm, _\- As I watched others. You can help me. Others could not. Can you...stop fearing me?_

\- If it's some sort of trust test, I don't mind it, - Carl said after a pause, trying to answer correctly and hide her telepathic ability. It was the only trump card they had right now, and Carl will not risk it, even if he knew that Pierce and Grace were outright using him. But there was no point in whining, Carl need to focus himself on surviving and escaping.

 _\- You are…tensed._

\- I have an idea, - Carl slowly took his hands from the Grace's claws and slowly rose up, - We need training.

 _-_ _Training?_ \- Grace cocked her head to the side again, indicating that she again can't comprehend what Carl had in mind.

\- Yeah, training. We have this day free, and from now on we will do some training, USCM style.

The rest of the day Carl spend with Grace, training and examining their schedule for this week with Emmerich's written commentary. Carl tried to remember everything he learned from marines, but there weren't any sport inventory, so they had to improvise. Running small circles around the containment area was good enough, for starters, and Grace even added some elements to it – she chased Carl on the walls (that was creepy as fuck, as Carl took mental note) and randomly jumped from the walls, aiming for legs or upper torso. Clearly most of the times she hit Carl hard, since he lacked the needed reaction to evade her jumps, but he managed to dodge her twice in a row.

When Carl started making push-ups, Grace suddenly sat on him, adding more pressure and weight for young engineer.

\- Shit, - Carl grunted, barely making fifteen push-ups, - I appreciate...it...but can you just ease a little?

 _\- No. You wanted this training. You get it._

There were other types of exercises Carl had to do, but with no sport inventory he was pretty much limited in what he could actually do, but after a while Carl and Grace found how to train together. Carl wanted to perform some pull- and chin-ups, but there were no planks to do the exercise. Grace came up with idea of using her arm as a plank – she was tall enough, and when Carl could perform the exercise she could do it too by literally using Carl as weight. She lifted him easily, but even she after some time got tired. They spent some more time to develop exercises for both of them, and then Carl hit the showers when he felt himself completely spent. He locked the door, which made Grace cock her head to the side, and entered shower cabin.

With exercises routine they should be fine. Pierce wrote them some advices, and advice number one was too separate their space when it comes to personal things. It was good advice, since Grace was way too human in shapes, which put extra pressure on Carl's psyche. Damn it, of course such thoughts were in his mind, and what made it worse, is that she can know it! Right now! Damn it, what he can do with it? He was good at suppressing and hiding his thoughts only if the person wasn't a telepath, which never happened to him before.

Carl bumped his head to the wall, groaning from frustration. When he was ready, he put some clothes on from the cupboard (which were same boring white things) and only after that he unlocked the door, letting curious Grace inside.

 _\- Why are you smelling like a fruit?_ \- Grace lowered her head to Carl, clearly sensing what he was smelling like. Carl didn't, he had trouble with smelling things on himself.

\- Weird smell? Yeah, it's what we do – our bodies produce sweat to compensate the heat and cool ourselves, while also removing toxins and other bad stuff. Our sweat smells bad for other humans, so we are trying to conceal it with something more nice, like fruits.

 _\- You are weird,_ \- Grace sat down inside his compartment, looking puzzled with what Carl just said.

\- Yeah, it sounds weird, - Carl got on his couch, covering himself with a blanket while clicking switch near him to turn lights off inside his room, - You will stay here?

 _\- Yes. I want to talk to you,_ \- she nodded, sitting right next to the couch, _\- Let me in._

\- I can see this as yes...good night, - Carl nodded to her, closing his eyes.

Let her in? What was she talking about?

 _\- Don't talk._

Carl growled a bit, but he was trying his best not to think, since Grace considered thinking and talking same thing. For Carl it wasn't so easy, his mind was always thinking of something that couldn't help him sleep well. So, when Carl admitted his defeat in shutting his thoughts, he was trying to focus on darkness he saw with his eyes closed. He tried to picture the darkness to the last detail, fill his brain with those images and nothing else, just dar…

Something moved. Something was moved inside the darkness, that was trying to reach him. How could he sense it, he didn't even know, he got only feelings of something extending forward. It was something powerful, dark, which made Carl shiver and distance himself a bit from the coming darkness, that was shaping itself in the form of alien woman, that was much taller and much stronger than Carl. She slowly started to move towards him with arms open and lowered to her sides in peaceful manner.

\- This is your mind? - she asked without moving her lips. He heard only her voice, which wasn't faint and distant as before – it sounded from everywhere. Carl looked around, and he was seeing random images flashing everywhere, some things that were close to him, like his audioplayer…

But what made Carl panic is the figure of his father. He was standing there and smiling softly, holding a gun on his shoulder with proud look.

\- ...yes, - Carl moved slowly to image of his father, who was just standing there still, - How?…

\- I can, - Grace followed Carl, looking with him at the image, - It is your...father. The one you hold many emotions for.

\- Look, I don't like to...talk about myself, and especially when someone just reads me like open book.

\- I want to understand you. We can not talk when they are watching, - Grace opened her palm, showing Carl images of science teams at the monitors, - This is the place where we can talk.

\- Fine, but stop doing...what you are doing, please.

\- You do not trust me, - said Grace, moving around Carl in circles.

\- If someone invaded your mind, while you were used to be alone, at all – you wouldn't be so comfortable, - Carl glanced at Grace with accusing glare, - We, humans, can't talk with our minds, at all, therefore we have language to help us understand each other.

\- You can lie when you speak, - Grace stopped and looked around, - I saw Pierce did it. She started to lie to everyone...and she taught me to lie too. But here, - Grace looked around the space, - You can not lie. I can not lie.

\- I...It just happened so fast, I just need some time to…

\- Lie.

\- What?

\- I said – you can not lie here, - Grace moved towards Carl and lowered her head to his level, - And you lied to me. I want the truth.

\- Truth? Fine, - Carl suddenly boiled with rage, looking right in the eyeless face, - I was chosen, from any other people, to be a part of something I didn't want to be in the first place, and I now had to escape from a maximum security facility because Pierce and you thought I could help you both! - yelled Carl in rage, - So, yeah, I don't trust you to walk inside my brain like you are welcomed here and can do whatever you want, but apparently I have no fucking choice here – either I will be here until they dissect you and waste me, or I will die in escape attempt. And fucking damn it! - Carl walked away from the Grace, trying to calm himself down, - Fucking Gibbens, who was just a dad who wanted to be with his son and get him a good job, shot himself in front of me! - Carl returned his gaze towards Grace and kept shouting at her, - He wanted to kill me, twice, but ended himself! His brains were fucking everywhere, and that "cracker" wasn't so bad after what I fucking saw! - Carl came closer to Grace, facing her in mere centimeters from her eyeless face, - I was experimented on, and people died because you and Pierce decided to chose me. I won't fucking bitch about it, I will do what I have to with everything I got, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

\- You not supposed to.

\- ...what? - Carl's rage was suddenly extinguished by calm answer from Grace.

\- If you liked what happened to you, I would not listen to you anymore, - she slowly moved to the side, keeping her head down. Carl felt that she was...sad? Guilty? - I do not like this. I was born in those cold walls, with cold people around… and I heard voices, like you heard mine when I reached you and you started to hear me, - she turned her head a bit to see Carl, - I heard those voices in panic, countless screams, and then...it was silence, - she turned herself towards Carl, crossing her clawed palms together and keeping them down, - I chose you to help me, and brought you pain...but it happened because of one man we both hate.

\- Emmerich, - sighed Carl, understanding her point.

\- Yes. I can understand your rage, - Grace moved towards Carl, palms still crossed together, - And you must understand mine. Of all people I saw you have...what Pierce called "heart". I liked it.

\- You saw a lot, - sighed Carl, - Not only good things, but probably some bad too.

\- Yes, - she nodded, - And they are irrelevant to me. I chose you because Pierce wanted you for your abilities...but I started to notice what the man you are...Carl.

That was the first time she actually said his name. Carl looked at Grace in front of him with puzzled expression and thoughts, because he didn't even knew what to say or what to feel. Of course she sensed it...and suddenly smiled for the first time. Gently, soothingly, she was smiling to him.

\- I noticed what you felt, what you were thinking. I liked what I saw...and I like this, - she pointed to images around them, - Now I understand why you keep it to yourself...can you open something to me?

\- ...I...I think I can, - Carl nervously nodded, trying to figure out what he must talk about with her, - But in slow portions, OK? I...I never talked to someone about myself before, and it's gonna take a while.

\- I am here to listen.

\- Let's start with...him, - Carl pointed to the image of his father.

* * *

It was now two month after their first mental contact. The routine was simple – get up, tests, eat, rest, tests, free time, "night talk". The first one cause Carl to have a huge headache, and he masked it to the best of his ability, but next "night talks" were much easier. Carl also noticed that the strength of their mental talk is insane, since on one of the test Grace talked to him from nearly hundred meters away.

The test were interesting. Emmerich tried to come up with tests, where he could put Grace into situations which required her abilities of stealth, savagery or really fast learning. And Carl could swear that she was learning way too fast while remembering everything correctly – when she attacked one of the androids inside the huge armor set, she used Carl's advice to observe and determine weak points, which she remembered correctly when she faced several more androids in same armor next week. But she had some problems with understanding human society and customs because she was thinking much differently. It was also noticeable when they had "night talks" about Carl, and he had to explain lots of things to her from different points of view.

She liked his father, a lot – with just several scenes from Carl's past Grace understood Carl much better than before. In return she did something Carl wasn't sure it was possible – she invoked his memories from younger age. As Grace stated, the memories were always there, but with age they became irrelevant and dim. With her help he recovered some of those memories, which Grace with Carl's permission watched.

He knew why she was doing this – through his memories and emotions she wanted family, even foreign and long lost one, but family still. She couldn't hide it, as Carl began to sense her better during "night talks", and he senses how sad and lonely she actually was. The only joy to her was some random human with good memories about good family. They never touched the subject of how it ended as Carl explained to her that he wasn't ready...and because he doesn't want to make her even more sad.

But as she experienced his memories, his way of thinking, he slowly began to understand her too. Carl deduced that she wasn't born naturally, rather she was somehow created by Emmerich along with other experimental organisms. She felt them before, felt their presence all the time until she was all alone, in silence that still was hunting her. She hated silence, hated be without any connection to anyone, feeling herself…

\- ...empty.

\- I...don't know how to help you, Grace, - Carl sighed, seeing her form in their next "night talk", - We all are born like this, and we just used to it, because we can't do what you can. But it doesn't mean that we are alone...well, I felt myself alone many times and for too long, but I got used to it.

\- How? - she rose her head, watching straight to Carl.

\- I...dunno, it takes time and will, I guess, I don't have right answer for it. But...at least you happy when you?…

\- Yes, - she interrupted Carl, smiling a bit, - I am.

He started to feel that he actually likes her, more than just beautiful alien woman, but as something much more. She was his support, as he was hers during all those days in the cell, and they grew to accustom each other. She probably sensed it, but she didn't question his feelings yet, or probably she wanted Carl to take some time to talk about this. Who would knew, that they actually can just talk to each other and appreciate what they both actually are? Without lies, without need to pretend...yeah, they still were in some deep shit, but it wasn't as hopeless as it seemed before.

Pierce visited them rarely, and most of the time she was wearing a mask of cold scientist, conducting tests with them. Carl knew, that Pierce was planning their escape and waited for the right opportunity, but as time went by, Carl grew more impatient. Of course the right time could be in next year, or several years, if both he and Grace would be alive, he clearly understood that right after their first talk with Pierce.

At the end of the second month Carl and Grace were doing their typical routine – they were playing words, using the dictionary Emmerich allowed them to have. Grace was pretty good at it, and she liked this game more of any others because it trained their memory capabilities.

\- He's late, - growled Carl, looking at his wristwatch – another Emmerich's present, - His new cooperative test probably took longer to construct.

 _\- I will not swim again under closed metal,_ \- stoutly transmitted Grace, _\- It was bad...joke?...joke._

\- Well, let's hope he won't pull another "joke" with sealed metal hatch.

Suddenly lights in theie containment cell turned off. As they agreed before, Grace quickly rose up from the floor and launched herself towards the exit, taking position on the ceiling. Carl rose up too, facing exit door with a determined glare – it was probably their opportunity for escape, since only Pierce could power down their cell. The doors, though, had different power supply and could hold the current for an hour, as Pierce once told them, so they couldn't escape even if power outage happened. They need to hold on before Pierce arrives.

She arrived shortly after lights died – she opened the door and signaled Carl to come out from the containment.

\- Grace will drop now near you, - Carl warned doctor second before Grace let go her claws from the ceiling, landing near Pierce, - What's the plan?

\- There is no landing sites, so we have to move via elevator to the planet's surface, - explained Pierce, quickly guiding Carl and Grace to the observatory, which was empty right now, - We need to reach hangar, steal exploration vehicle and get most powerful radio transmitter along with us before evacuation.

\- We contact marines when we are on the surface, right?

\- Yes, - she nodded, quickly glancing at many camera screens, - And they pick us up, because I have all the evidence I need to tear this place to pieces. But the hangar bays are automatically sealed when power outage occurs with their own power supply, as many other rooms expect for main corridor, - Pierce took out her backpack from her should and showed it to Carl, while she was doing something on the terminal, - That's where you come in – there are tools and schematics for this place, try to make up best route for us to the hangar bay.

\- Damn it, Pierce, - grunted Carl, strapping utility belt on his waist and throwing everything from the table near him, laying blueprints on it, - How much time we have and what our containment unit called?

\- From thirty to fifteen minutes, and it's number two, - said doctor, while she was still recording something on a giant circuit board inside main terminal, - Grace, you fine?...good, and yes, we can't just use the ventilation system – it's under current too. Emmerich was too paranoid, and he built many systems for many scenarios.

\- I think I got it, - Carl waved Pierce and Grace to come closer, - We are here, in the containment unit number two, and the most shortest way to hangar bay is here...near engineering quarters, where we can get radio.

\- There is one here in the warehouse...here, - Pierce pointed her finger to the right room, - What next?

\- We must come to this maint shaft, in next warehouse, and use it to get to hangar bay. Those doors would be much easier to crack, and we still gonna have some advantage.

\- There is still a problem with elevators, they can power them down to prevent our escape, - noticed Pierce, looking at Carl, - Any thoughts?

\- They must have emergency power to run elevators in case of malfunction of main power source, - explained Carl, looking at Pierce in return, - We will take power battery and some fuel canisters with us when we reach hangar bay.

\- Let's move then.

Suddenly the door to the observation room opened, revealing two PMC's with guns already aimed at doctor and young engineer. But before anyone could say anything, Grace silently dropped from the floor, pinning two people down and quickly sinking her claws under their helmets.

 _\- I sensed them coming and hid,_ \- she explained to Carl, getting her claws, now dripping with blood, from the humans skulls.

\- ...thanks, - Carl blinked, quickly gathering his thoughts together and shaking stunned Pierce near him, - We need to move, Pierce, - Carl went to dead PMC and took his pistol with holster and munition pouches, also grabbing pretty heavy rifle with some mags to it.

\- R-right, - she mumbled, looking at two dead PMC's under the Grace.

 _-_ _She did not liked it,_ \- Grace jumped on the ceiling and hid inside the shadows of the dark corridor, _\- You too._

\- We can talk later about morality of killing armored and armed people, - grunted Carl, looking at blueprint, - Pierce, you access card will work during outage?

\- Y-yes, the doors will open, but my access is limited, - she answered with a stutter in her voice. She definitely was shocked from seeing murder in front of her eyes, as Carl actually was too, but she quickly got her senses, - Outage can disrupt main systems, but I can't power down whole facility.

\- What exactly did you do?

\- Initiated shutdown of main reactor, - explained Pierce, glancing everywhere. They didn't had any flashlights, so they had to watch their step carefully – even in red lights of emergency bulbs it was just too dark in the corridors, - They will restart it again shortly, but I made some obstructions to give us extra time.

\- Good, powering down everything could kill us – without heat and oxygen recirculation.

\- I am not an idiot, Simmons.

\- I know, Pierce.

Grace, who coiled her tail down as a beacon, suddenly stopped and dropped to the floor, holding her left fist clenched. Carl taught her some military gestures during their "night talks", thanks to revisiting his memories with father and marines from local colony, and he was glad that this came in handy. After some time she unclenched her fist, showing three claws, and then she pointed silently to her left. There were no boxes, no ventilation shafts, no hutches – they were completely exposed here, with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. As silently as he could, Carl cuddled the wall to the left, getting pistol out of the holster and extending the rifle to Grace.

\- I will shoot over them, - he whispered as quiet as he can, - You shoot much lower. They will duck and you could hit their heads easier. Just don't forget this safety switch.

 _\- I know. They used those before,_ \- Grace grabbed rifle from Carl's hands and bent her knee near him, hiding behind wall, _\- I am ready. Shoot._

Carl took a deep breath and make several blind shots from the wall, trying to aim over average human head. With his shots Grace quickly got from her cover and clicked safety switch, opening fire, laying waste to screaming humans. When Carl took a look from his cover, he saw three bodies on the floor with blood dripping from their cracked helmets. Taking some more munition from bodies, Carl stripped some of it to Pierce, resuming soon their voyage towards engineering.

\- She only once used a weapon...fascinating, - mumbled Pierce in low voice, watching Grace closely, - She became much deadlier than before…

\- Pierce, we can discuss it on our way out of here, - interrupted Carl her thoughts, - We still have escape to attempt.

\- Yes, yes, I know.

Grace strapped weapon to her neck and was once again on the ceiling, crawling on it pretty fast. Carl was looking left and right, but they were not encountering anyone, even when they reached warehouse and engineering. They grabbed the needed radio, and soon Carl cracked door to maintenance corridor, letting Pierce and Grace inside.

\- There was no one on our way, - suddenly spoke Carl.

\- What?

\- We didn't saw other PMC's heading to containment unit, and we didn't saw other personnel, - explained Carl, heading between hot pipes, - That's not good.

\- You saw bolted doors, - growled Pierce, who already got burns from the pipes, - They can't get out until power restores back.

\- Oh, yeah...right.

When Carl opened a door leading to the hangar bay, he expected it to be crowded, but there were just three of them along with some vehicles. It looked like it was abandoned for some reason when outage occurred, even instruments were randomly lying around. The red lights were there too, making it hard to see something in particular.

\- Quick, to the vehicle, - Carl nodded to it, and he first got out from the door.

He didn't knew what happened, but something hit him hard in the knee, making him fall to the ground. Pierce couldn't contain her scream, and Grace was just standing there, inside the corridor and watching dozens of red dots over Carl's body.

\- Object "A" and doctor Pierce, please, come out from the maintenance. The experiment is over.

Pierce and Grace both slowly stepped inside hangar bay, only to see them surrounded by dozens and dozens PMC's with night-vision googles, who were aiming their weapons at the trio from the second floor of hangar bay. Carl was still on the floor, grunting from the pain and anger, because he recognized this voice.

\- Doctor Pierce, I should applause your determination and skills, - Emmerich was on the second floor, holding megaphone in his hands. Carl couldn't see him, but he was very sure he was old gray cunt, - But in the end do you really think you can escape?...I guess I owe you explanation.

\- Carl, you all fine? - Pierce looked down at him with tensed expression on her face.

\- Just a resin bullet, - grunted Carl. Grace stepped to him and helped him to get on his feet, - Still hurt like hell…

\- It was actually easy, Pierce. I knew you would come up with a plan to free object "A" from captivity, it was obvious. I just was curious what you can do with her, and let you prepare your escape attempt...but you missed several major things, doctor. First of all, your team, which came up along with you to the very idea of project "Pavlov", was actually pushing you to the right conclusions, since I designed "Pavlov" in the first place.

\- ...what? - inhaled Pierce in disbelief.

\- Second – your team also lead you to test our reactor shutdown sequence, which lead you to create a plan, involving it's shutdown. Third – your team also was responsible to lead you to the very idea of using escape via hangar bay. I was pointing you in the right directions, and your escape plan is actually mine...and mister Simmons here was actually useful too, - Carl saw Emmerich's grin, and he clenched his fists together with Grace, - Those amateur tests and torture in the beginning were not designed to bring you together – only several weeks in closed quarters, as Pierce suggested, actually done what I wanted to be done. And also I wanted to confirm my theory of object "A"'s ability to perform telepathy, but with you I discovered that she could do much more...you know that we have all sensors we need for scans? The brainwaves in your first session were amazing, as your subsequent sessions became much more stable.

Carl didn't knew what to say. Emmerich outsmarted them all from the beginning, and they couldn't do anything about it. He wasn't hoping much to actually survive the attempt, but this...this was much worse.

\- Project "Ascension" completed it's first phase. With your help, by the way, so you all can live. Of course in the containment cell. As soon as power goes online, we are going to…

\- Emmerich, you old cunt, can't you just shut up? - suddenly spoke dynamics inside the hangar bay. Clearly it wasn't going as Emmerich planned, since he and his PMC's were surprised by sudden voice, - You are so proud of yourself, you arrogant prick...but it doesn't matter. Your research destroyed with only one copy of it on me, and I am just one button away from calling USCM to the party.

\- ...mister Heliford, I am assuming you performed industrial espionage?

\- How does it look like, idiot? - answered voice from the dynamics again, - You were so completely busy with Pierce and this "A", that you didn't notice me at all, making my life easier. Now, with reactors shutdown…

\- Wait. Reactors? You turned every reactor offline? - asked Emmerich via megaphone. Carl saw that Emmerich was...afraid? He wasn't as calm as before, that's for sure.

\- Yeah, so you better hurry up and hear my terms, since I got food, water, power and oxygen here.

\- ...how long did you turned reactors offline?

\- Just when Pierce got the main one. Hey, doc, will you hear…

\- You imbecile! - suddenly shouted Emmerich, making everyone jump from surprise, - No wonder you didn't became my assistant and was transferred to Pierce's department! Think with your head, mister Heliford – there is a xenomorph-human hybrid here, you can see it here on the cameras. How we did it?

\- Doc, what are you…

\- We didn't received samples from the outer sources, since the customs are too tight! - yelled Emmerich again, - The only source we could get is from a living objects! And we had a power to contain them, but since you kindly turned every damned reactor offline...you get it?

\- ...Christ, - the voice from dynamics suddenly changed from being cocky to being scared to death, - You never told us!

\- I never told anyone, because it was classified information, mister Heliford. But I can easily say it now, since we are all dead – this facility was built on the xenomorph Hive. And now, thanks to you, we have a containment breach.

* * *

 **Someone wanted action, and boy, you gonna have it.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:**  
 **Gonna write lot's of stuff here, by the way.**

 **First of all, happy New Year in advance for everyone, since it's last chapter in the current year. I hope you will achieve something you couldn't achieved before, and you all will have means to do so. Strive what you wish for.**

 **Secondary, it's over 9000 words (put the meme hero by yourself, please), new personal record. And over 750 views. Which is awesome. At the start of this experiment I wasn't sure in getting a even hunderd, and I am glad I was wrong.**

 **Third - new chapters will take longer since lots of events are going to happen with lots of characters in a prerry much short period of time. Action, horror, suspense, dark themes with new mystery and pieces of puzzle revealed in next chapters.**

 **Oh, fourth. "Alien:Covenant". I was hyped, but I slowly felt hype replaced with dissapointment. It is going to be Prometheus 2.0, which I personally consider very stupid, very unnecessary, pretty much uninspired piece of garbage. What, in my opinion, made "Alien" great horror, it was direct opposing of what we got in Prometheus/Alien:Covenant: smart characters with great acting were replaced with moronic imbecils who won Darwin's Award in advance, some of them barely could act; smart and life-like dialogue, which made characters felt living persons, were replaced with trailer-like dialogue's; really smart scary scenes were replaced with teenage slasher ones; and etc., etc. With all my respect to Ridley Scott, it's total downgrade of his work. Especially placing the actors in "Prometheus School Running Away From Things".**

 **That makes me think about to not let my own work downgrade. But here's the thing - I don't do anything for money (sob) and I don't target audiences, so I can write what I want, without nearly any restraints, just like 80s mature movies. I miss that approach nowadays.**

 **Of course with some feedback, since I got it only from reviews. That makes me sad a bit.**

 **Anyway, enjoy this chapter and happy New Year.**

* * *

There was a heavy silence in the hangar bay. PMC's already lowered their weapons and were now glancing at each other, not knowing what to even say.

\- What the fuck is xenomorph? - Carl asked from Pierce, who got pale. He also noticed how Grace tensed, tightening her embrace around Carl.

\- It's a hostile alien life form, which genetic material we used to create her, - said Pierce in low voice, nodding towards Grace, - I had no idea where Emmerich got the needed material, and never had a thought about whole Hive under us…

 _\- I felt something faint deep underneath…something dark,_ \- nodded Grace to doctor's words, _\- But never paid attention to it._

\- Mister Heliford, - suddenly continued Emmerich via his megaphone, - I can assume you did not done this sabotage alone. I suggest you to contact your allies and tell them to surrender before PMC decides to destroy any resistance...or pray that your allies are smart people in the first place. Mister Simmons, are you familiar with the principals of working of deuterium-lithium reactors?

\- Pretty much, - answered Carl loudly, still holding onto Grace. Those reactors were old and pretty common everywhere, since they provided power to ships, colonies and space stations.

\- Good. I can guess that there will be no engineering personnel in reactor room, and you are our last chance for survival. I suggest to put our differences aside and discuss them later, since we have probably hour or two of stored emergency energy, along with xenomorph threat.

\- We'll play with you for now, Emmerich, - nodded Carl.

 _\- What?!_ \- Grace suddenly turned her face to young engineer. He saw her lips shaking from anger she tried to hide.

\- You have to, otherwise we are all dead, - continued Emmerich, understanding Grace's reaction, - With combined forces we have much higher chances of successful escaping and preventing the major catastrophe. By my calculations, we have twenty to fifteen minutes before first xenomorph enters main facility, and we better hurry.

\- Do you have a plan, Emmerich?

\- Of course, don't insult me, - grumbled director, coming down from the second floor with all PMC's he had, surrounding Carl, Pierce and Grace, - Can we take a look at facility's blueprints? Bring us table...We need to turn reactors online manually and make sure they can not be turned down remotely. I can help you with that once you start reactor in sector C, - Emmerich pointed to one of the facility's corners, - You power reactor on and proceed to communication server three, located nearby, turning communications array online. We contacting the colony and USCM both and proceed to evacuate.

\- Why he needed to turn every reactor offline in the first place? - asked Carl from Emmerich and watching Grace closely, who just stand beside him with her tail flailing around wildly in anger. She was really pissed off and barely hold herself together form ripping Emmerich's throat.

\- He wanted to turn every major system offline and threat us with slow death in order to make us pay ransom and lend him a transport to leave this system. Is this correct, mister Heliford? - asked Emmerich from the dynamic over his head.

\- Y-yeah, it's correct. Director, I am trying to remotely reactivate reactors and other support systems, but they not responding – something is blocking me.

\- They won't, - Emmerich shook his head in negative motion, - Once you powered down all reactors and disabled all systems, only I and other several personnel can reactivate them – it was done to prevent any viruses to download to our mainframes and to prevent other sabotage actions. We can't contain xenomorphs here anymore, and we must evacuate everyone from both facility and colony before the infestation spreads further to moon bases and other systems.

 _\- There is something wrong with those people,_ \- suddenly heard Carl Grace's voice, _\- They are...chanting something, some strange songs...I sense they think about something else, but can't see it._

\- Doctor, maybe we should leave PMC here to protect our only escape rout? - suggested Carl, - We have Grace with us to detect those...xenomorphs, and to deflect their attacks with her help.

\- ...that is dangerous, but we can't lose the hangar bay, - nodded Emmerich in agreement, - All squads, stay h...

It happened too quickly – the PMC's suddenly raised their weapons and aimed at Emmerich, Carl, Pierce and Grace. Carl slowly raised his hands up in the air, because there was no point in provoking several dozens professional killers.

\- On your knees, - commanded one of the PMC's through his closed helmet, making his voice pretty deaf. Carl and other had to comply, since they didn't had any choice here, - "Red" team with me to central operations. "Blue" and "Green" – watch the hangar and prisoners, if someone moves – focus fire on the freak, - PMC pointed towards Grace, who responded with low hiss of pure hatred, - "Yellow" – take engineer, take "Black" squad with you and turn on the reactor, you know the rest.

\- Yes sir, - all PMC's saluted and began their work. "Yellows" – apparently they were named like this because of the coloration of their initials on their chest and back – took Carl roughly from the ground and showed him forward the maintenance corridor.

 _\- I will rip them to pieces. Just wait for me._

Soon Carl was escorted from the hangar bay back to the main corridors, where another PMC squad was waiting for them. Carl had to give them – they were no pushovers, employing military tactics and acting seriously, so there was nothing he can do but to comply and shut his mouth. He need a plan, a solid escape plan, and he need to understand what the actual fuck happened here. Emmerich clearly was an asshole, but he was thinking about people here, which surprised Carl a lot – he thought of him only as some Sunday morning cartoon science villain. But it was more to him, something that made Carl shiver in realization that he probably had very solid reasons for everything he done. He still needed answers, though, and the only way to get them is to stay alive.

"Yellow" and "Black" were talking only in simple military gestures, like "clear", "two men left, two men right" and stuff like this, with lead Carl to very scary conclusion – it was all planned before his arrival, right under Emmerich's nose. But how? Emmerich was a paranoid person, he designed "Pavlov" and guided Pierce to what he wanted her to do, as he guided Carl and Grace without them even realizing it. Whatever underground struggle Emmerich had, he lost it somehow long ago to someone much more cunning. But what were the goals? If PMC's are going to stay here, they likely to be killed by those xenomorphs Emmerich and Pierce talked about...no, they will evacuate, and probably they will take Grace along with director. They already made Heliford destroy all data about "Ascension", and probably they will retrieve last copy of it, killing Heliford in process. Xenomorphs will murder everyone here, and the PMC's are going outside to…

...to the ship. They have a ship prepared here. They will turn communications on and contact the ship for extraction, and right when Carl will be done with repairs, they will kill him right on spot. No one will knew what happened here, since USCM probably will just nuke the whole place, killing everyone and everything in the process. If that's was their plan, as Carl tried to deduce by putting himself in PMC's shoes, it will work. But there still was glimpse of hope, since those xenomorphs could do something really unexpected – if Grace was designed from their genetic material, it meant only bad things for everyone.

* * *

\- Ten minutes, - Emmerich took a look at his wristwatch, talking in low voice.

\- What? - Pierce turned her grim face towards director. They were inside the small painted with red paint square in the open area of hangar bay, under constant aim from PMC from second floor.

\- We have approximately ten minutes before first xenomorph encounter, - explained Emmerich, sighing and crossing his arms on his chest, - Doctor Pierce, turn your head on and think, since you do not posses any combat skills.

\- It's pretty hard, - replied Pierce with low growl of anger, - Since you put us in this situation in the first place.

\- The PMC's defection was not expected at all, since I personally was in charge of their recruitment. You were expected to move back to the containment cell where we could proceed to phase two and new tests.

 _\- I had enough with your "tests",_ \- since there was no point in hiding her abilities, Grace was now making up for it. She sat inside the square too, with her arms and legs crossed, her lips shaking a bit and tail flailing wildly behind her, _\- If it was not for the humans nearby, I would take my time with you._

\- You should focus on a more problematic matter, - replied Emmerich back calmly, - You still have a lot of steps to take full control of your xenomorph side, but I must admit your progress as positive...think, Grace, think. You have vast intelligence capabilities and natural abilities that are far superior than human ones, all you need to do is to use them wisely, - director nodded towards PMC's that were guarding them from above, - Analyze. Think as a human, listen to your instincts and make right decision, just like it was on previous cooperative tests with mister Simmons.

\- ...he's right, - Pierce slowly nodded after a pause, watching at director with mixed expression of respect and hatred, - I, of course, hate him as you are, but we need to cooperate in order to survive.

\- And to retrieve mister Simmons, - reminded Emmerich, - He would not be of any use to them after starting reactor online and turning communications array on. We are needed since I was in charge of the project with doctor Pierce assisting, and you are the project itself. To them mister Simmons have no value.

 _\- ...we cooperate,_ \- Grace slowly nodded, putting her tail on the floor in relaxed position, _\- You are right. I will focus on them for now._

\- Take control of your emotions and focus, Grace, - Emmerich continued, staring with a frown at hybrid woman, - The xenomorphs had no place for morality, they are not clouded by consciousness, they have only one goal – Hive prosperity. You must have same clear purpose, which will drive you to action.

She slowly lowered her head to the floor, trying to think and feel what was around her. There was only one goal right now – she wanted to escape, to be free from being in constant captivity, to see the world outside. Carl showed her several places, other planets inside the deep void of the cosmos that were very different from each other. Worlds like Earth with variety of zones, frozen worlds like this one, water worlds, jungle planets, barren wastelands...she remembered it clearly. She want to see those distant planets in the darkness and find her place.

In order to do it, she needed help from them all – Emmerich, Pierce...and Carl. In order to save him, she must give in to her predator instincts when the time is right and deprive herself from any doubt. But she can't do it alone – her skin maybe can deflect bullets and withstand some weapons, but those humans will open fire as soon as she starts to move. There must be another way to deal with them...and she found one. Slowly, she reached down, sensing the coming of the dark storm, that crawled from the depth below. With a little hesitation, Grace revealed herself and her nature, making it clear for the storm to see her. The storm stopped for several moments just before she sensed a strong wave of rage directed at her. The wave came from the storm, but it originated at the center of it, revealing just for a moment who was there. Realization made Grace shiver from the powerful aura that came with the wave of anger, and she quickly retreated back.

 _\- They will come soon. I made them knew about me and where I am,_ \- Grace slowly rose her head, transmitting her message to Pierce and Emmerich, one at a time, _\- They are...furious, and want me dead,_ \- Grace shook her elongated head a little, dumping leftover from the wave from her, _\- But they will engage those humans in a fight over me. This is the only chance of escaping._

\- See? I knew you could do it, - smiled director victoriously.

 _\- ...I am doing it not because of you, Emmerich._

\- Of course. Otherwise you did not succeeded...now we wait.

\- I hope we actually survive this, - grumbled Pierce in low voice, shaking a little from the tension.

* * *

\- Get to work, - one of the "Black" PMC's showed Carl inside the dressing room, filled with big lockers which held special suits to work inside the reactor area. Those suits could withstand high radiation levels, electric currents and were completely sealed with internal oxygen supply.

Since they were talking about deuterium-lithium reactors, it was all about water, ionization and very low temperatures, meaning that when somebody shuts down reactor, it also shuts down water pumps, ion chamber and many other important things along with main core. And whoever turned this reactor offline, he was surely turning it off for good.

\- It will take…

\- You don't get to talk, - Carl was suddenly interrupted by a strong hit to his stomach, which made Carl bend a little, trying to catch his breath, - Get into the suit and turn it on.

Young engineer slowly nodded, and he tried to clothe himself as fast as he could. Turning emergency radio on inside his bulky suit, Carl also checked the oxygen pressure inside his tank before he put helmet on, sealing himself inside. He hated those suits, but otherwise he could get lethal dozes of radiation from nearly everything.

Those rogue PMC's were cool with Carl walking inside the reactor core alone as they also had one of the local engineers with them in the control room. He was the only who survived because he was reactor supervisor who actually turned it off in the first place. Other engineers were brutally killed by "Black" team, along with some random people along the way to the reactor core. They sure didn't want any witnesses.

\- Simmons, you in? - Carl heard radio cracking inside his helmet.

\- Yes, in the airlock, all green, - responded Carl, who was carrying two big boxes with instruments.

\- Starting procedure.

After some time and hissing of air, the big metal doors to core opened, letting Carl inside. As was expected from reactor core, it was completely dark round room with lots of pipes, consoles and hoses. In the center was the main core under several protective layers of reinforced plasteel, where reaction was taking place. Carl turned his shoulder pads on, which flushed with white light.

\- At least you stopped the reaction process, - he walked towards the console with a monitor above it, watching status on the monochrome screen.

\- We need to start reaction again. You need to reactivate water pumps first, they are on your left and right. Check the flow speed and pressure inside the pipes, - he heard a voice of engineer again, - And tell me the readings.

\- On it.

It was really hard to get this thing operational, despite the constant advices from the engineer in control room – this state of the art reactor was not a car engine, at all. Carl got all sweaty from the tension, because one wrong decision, and they will be lucky to stop the reaction in time. If they were not lucky...well, they won't feel a thing at least.

\- Last hose attached, - grunted Carl, securing the hose tightly, when he suddenly heard clacking outside of the reactor core, - There's something in the ventilation, - Carl looked back to the control room, where PMC's gathered. Some of them were holding portable motion sensors.

\- Simmons, the reactor is sealed, you are safe here, - engineer in the control room looked back at the PMC's, who were busy with welding the vents, and Carl heard constant beeping of motion sensor, - Try to get marines, OK?

\- Wait, what are you?!…

Suddenly engineer bumped his fist into one of the many buttons. The PMC's noticed this too late and opened fire at engineer, making his body a complete mess just in seconds. Several bullets hit the observation window, but it could withstand even explosives, and it was just covered in blood and what's left of internal organs.

\- The fuck he did? - Carl heard the PMC's talking, since dead engineer didn't turned microphone off.

\- He unsealed all vents. Motherfucker...Get in formation, we have the power, and still have some of engineers alive. Mo…

\- Contact! - Carl couldn't see anything because of blood spilled over the window, but he could hear fire and some shrieks over it. Those shrieks were not human, at all, - They coming from the ve...AAA!

\- Shit! Circle formation, firing lines! Watch the fucking ceiling! How many signals?

\- Over thirty!

\- Die, you fuckers!

\- Eat shit!

\- Hold fire, they retreating! - suddenly shouted one of the PMC's, - Hold it! Are they out of the sensor range?

\- Yeah, nothing in thirty meters...wait.

\- ...sarge, you heard that? - Carl heard that too, not quite good as those soldiers, but still he heard some rumbling noise, that was coming closer.

\- This is really big signature, it's coming from there.

\- The fucking floor is shaking, what the...fu…

\- FIRE! FIRE! - Carl heard them firing along with a shriek that nearly stunned Carl – it was very powerful, and even made him step back and hide behind the core, shivering from fear. Whatever that creature was, it froze Carl's blood in his veins, and what was worse – Carl couldn't see it because of the blood over the window. But he saw something moving, very large, and moving too fast. What Carl heard was a mishmash of screams, shrieks, some really disgusting sounds, weapons firing and PMC's yelling.

\- Argh! Help me! Help!

\- Fuck, get off me! Fu!~

\- Retreat! Retre…, - one of the voices, as many before, ended up in some muffled scream.

\- Get to communications! We need to contact other teams!

\- Go-go-go! Suppressive fire!

Carl heard the battle moving away from him, but he couldn't move. The reactor was sealed, but will it stop whoever attacked those PMC's? Of course not...but if he will exit the core, he will play hide-and-seek with xenomorphs, which he will actually lose.

No, no-no-no. Focus. What father told you? Risk cautiously. That's it, and plan everything. So, PMC's are in retreat to the communications, while those xenomorphs are on their tails, which will lead to another battle eventually, and judging by what Carl heard, PMC's weren't winning. He should wait here a little and start moving toward communications too, since it was the only way to contact marines and colony itself. They will use it, and then probably start to move towards hangar bay…where were Grace, Emmerich and Pierce. Shit, how he supposed to get them? Without weapons, support, any real combat experience? Carl slowly opened his eyes and looked upon observation window, knowing that behind it only death. If he stays here, he will be dead anyway, since suit won't protect him forever, but he dies firstly from dehydration. Gathering all courage he could find, Carl slowly rose from the cover and walked towards the decontamination airlock, trying to fight shaking feelings in his legs. He was not afraid, he was terrorized, and only because of the willpower he could continue on. Stepping inside decontamination airlock, Carl pressed the button and closed his eyes, trying to calm his breath and heart, which was pounding crazy.

But mainly he closed his eyes because if something was waiting for him outside, there was nowhere to run.

* * *

 _\- They are near,_ \- Grace was observing the hangar bay, mostly PMC's that were aiming at her, but she also watched the ventilation shafts, _\- I can...feel their presence._

\- What do you feel from them? - suddenly asked Emmerich, glancing at Grace curiously.

 _\- ...they are not like you, Pierce or Carl,_ \- Grace slowly returned her head, facing Emmerich, _\- I...can't find words to describe them, I can only feel what they are._

\- Can you try it? Because there is nothing to do in the meantime.

 _\- ...they are rage. Without mercy. And whatever is leading them, is far worse._

\- How you managed to maintain whole Hive right under our noses, Emmerich? - asked Pierce, - Just how?

\- It is not important right now, but when you will be in need of this information, I will tell everything, - Emmerich, while he was counting time on his wristwatch, continued, - Let's put it like this – they were already here. Grace, how long?

 _\- They already there, in the vents. They are watching us, and searching for something...something emanating electricity._

\- Good. When they cut off the power, you have to move fast away from here, grabbing us both, since I have full access over facility and knowledge, needed for our survival.

 _\- This is the only reason_ _why_ _I will save you, Emmerich,_ \- Grace grimaced, showing her teeth partially. They were human in shape, but some of them were very sharp, with weird color – dim white-ish with a bit of metallic tone to them, _\- ...get up._

\- I thought you never asked, - said Emmerich, getting up on his feet and flexing his arms a little.

\- Sit back, director, - PMC's on the second floor immediately shouted at him, - You too, doctor Pierce. No one gave you permission to stand. Counting to three. One…

\- Hey, I am picking movement!

Suddenly whole hangar went dark. Grace reacted quickly, launching herself from the floor and grabbing both Emmerich and Pierce with her arms. There was fire on the floor just where they stood seconds ago, but even with both humans in her grasp Grace was really fast. She not only sensed them, she heard them coming – they were dropping from the vents, taking PMC one by one, and they were emerging from the cellar and maintenance, grabbing people and taking them into darkness. Their attack was swift and merciless, aiming mostly at PMC, but Grace sensed a pursuit after herself. She swiftly entered maintenance corridor and ran through it into main corridor, where she dropped Pierce and Emmerich on the floor, hissing towards the coming darkness.

 _\- Where you will be?_

\- While Simmons will probably activate and tune up communications array, he need my access to send the message, so we will be in central operations. You can find it on the map nearly on every wall in the facility.

\- It was "Red" team's assignment, - said Pierce, - And they probably won't left it unguarded.

\- We will think about it on the way, doctor Pierce, - Emmerich pointed towards one of the many corridor's branches, - Grace, can you hold them for us?

 _-_ _Go,_ \- Grace turned her head a bit towards Pierce, nodding to her, _\- I can do it._

\- Come back safe, Grace, - said Pierce, now running with Emmerich towards central operations.

Grace watched Pierce and Emmerich disappearing in the corridors of the facility, only now allowing herself to shake from fear and anxiety. She stood in the open, tail swinging slowly, her clawed arms open and relaxed, her legs were bending just a little in preparations for dodging. It was her first fight with someone else, someone that wasn't human at all...but she had something up her sleeve. Carl not only showed her marine training and what they taught him - he trained with her, improving his and her skills at the same time. They still were pretty amateur in terms of close quarter combat, but maybe it was something that could surprise her opponents...which were already here. She sensed them all and openly challenged them into combat, gathering her courage. Fear was natural reaction, she tried to calm herself down, and as Carl said, fear can be used to drive you forward. When Gibbens attacked him, he was afraid. When those beasts attacked him, he was terrified, but still he acted. And she must act too.

Grace smiled with a maniacal grin, and she made a shriek of her own, letting everyone knew that she won't give up without a fight. With her shriek died out, several vents suddenly collapsed around her.

* * *

Carl quickly got off from the anti-rad suit, and now he was raiding lockets for proper clothes, trying not to throw up because of the terrible smell and blood everywhere. He quickly dressed in some sort of brown engineer utility suit, which was a bit larger of his size, so he had to strap up tighter to himself. Picking up insulated gloves and welding goggles, Carl closed light-reflectors under the cloth and soon he was near corpse of the engineer, who was just lying at the terminal. Looking at this mess which was once a body, and now a chunk of something red, Carl couldn't resist anymore and threw up on the floor. At least it made everything much easier, since he needed this engineers ID card, which only by miracle was intact. Now as Carl was about to exit, he noticed several bodies of the dead PMC's with their weapons and equipment lying around. Blood was everywhere in this tight corridor, with bullet marking and...Carl couldn't believe his eyes, but some part of the corridor were just eaten by something, probably acid, and eaten for good – in some places whatever was eating metal it created huge holes to the nearby rooms and compartments. But Carl soon realized, that there were also claw marking on the walls, small and really big ones, which also made him realize one critical thing.

There were no bodies of the xenomorphs. Not even parts of them. And judging by what he heard, there must be at very least three to five bodies of PMC's, while there were only two lying around with their front side of the bodies just melted through. And when Carl was analyzing what happened here, he found a motion sensor, which was still working and reacting to Carl's movement. Picking up the sensor, Carl also picked up a pistol, checking it's ammo count on the side of the barrel. Seven, that should be enough, but he didn't have time for picking up more ammunition. Soon Carl was holding both sensor and pistol, walking forward to communications server. Gladly, there were plans of the facility on the walls and pointing arrows on the floor to help him navigate.

\- Simmons, you are heading right, - Carl nearly jumped from the cracked dynamic. He found the nearest camera and threw a glare to it, - Sorry. I can't help you directly, but I can watch you over camera systems and attracting them with dynamics. When you reach communications server, there will be a videocom console. Contact me through it, I am now switching to Emmerich and Pierce.

Heliford. At least he was still alive, despite all that was happening around, and probably he thought to change sides in order to save his skin. Carl wasn't complaining, though – he would do the same thing, and now Heliford was maybe even more valuable than Carl in this situation. But what bugged Carl, is the fact that Heliford mentioned only Emmerich and Pierce, not Grace. Maybe she was in ventilation, or she was using different path, he tried to calm himself, she can't just...die like this. Can she?...

On the way to communications Carl was tensed to the core, constantly looking at motion sensor in has hand. It was reacting sometimes, but only on the edge of sensor's range. He heard sometimes other humans inside locked compartments, but they were...screaming, or praying, or making some really scary moans, which made Carl only walk faster towards communications. Since there was now power, the corridors were bathing in white light, revealing evidence of previous battles – another stains from possible acid and bullet holes with claw marking and crushed ceiling. No bodies again, which meant one thing – those xenomorphs were really good at cleaning up for some reason. And they were good at killing and doing something to people, since he sometimes heard some sort of hissing from the vents and screams of the people that went muffled. Wiping tears from the eyes and sweat from the forehead, Carl tried his best not to panic and focus on getting to communications.

When he arrived there, the doors were already open for him, letting Carl inside. There were tons of giant server machines with hard drives, giant circuit boards and lots of terminals everywhere, which displayed current status of the array. He also heard low beeping sound inside the room, and soon Carl realized – it was videocom that was calling. He quickly reached videocom and accepted the call by pressing a button on the terminal.

\- Good, you here, - Heliford was just a little older than Carl, probably near thirty years old, and he was not looking well – he was pale, sweaty, and his eyes were wide from the constant fear, - I am trying to hold the PMC's from reaching me, but they are already nearby. Look, they already left the message, but they can't send it since they need confirmation from the central operations. I am done for, but I can help you – their message in the server number twenty, you can wipe it easily and left yours, since those idiots didn't locked the terminal.

\- Got it. Can you send the message from your position?

\- I can't, - Heliford shook his head in negative motion, - It needs access from Emmerich or some other people he trusted here. Those PMC's have that access, so when they reach me, they will discover that messages were changed, - Heliford looked somewhere off the screen, typing on his keyboard in a hurry, - I am sending you a fax with instructions on what to do now and what to do in central operations when you reach it. You must warn the colony, but I think it's too late for that.

\- Why? - Carl soon heard terminal's printer working with loud buzz and he took piece of paper with lots of texts on it.

\- They are leaving facility already, - Heliford changed the screen from his videocom to one of the camera feeds.

Carl didn't had any words of what he just saw, but he was agreed with Heliford – the colony was probably done for. He saw many moving shadows, that were heading towards giant pipe with it's grates open.

\- That's how you have oxygen here, - swallowed Carl nervously, - Atmos processor.

\- Yes...look, Simmons, - Heliford changed the screens again, looking towards Carl, - They fucking used me. I had no fucking idea of what was under the facility, and if I had, I would decline this...offer. Emmerich tried his best to hide the secret and secure it, since he knew that people here could share the fate of Acheron. Someone from Weyland-Yutani wanted to halt his research, he already had some fights with the board of directors, since they wanted xenomorphs as weapons for military use, - Heliford looked somewhere again, checking probably on other camera's, - But I could be wrong, and this is someone not from the Company – they just transferred me lots of money upfront with instructions, promising to pay triple for this, - Heliford was now looking back at Carl with a serious glare, - So you and your hybrid girlfriend have to deal with that on your own, because they won't stop until they got her. I made several copies of research data and hid them, locations are on your paper. Find them, get yourself at least three copies and destroy others, OK?

\- Heliford, don't do anything stupid, - growled Carl, looking at him. Heliford had the same eyes that Gibbens and that engineer had before they died, - We can get you…

\- You can't. I am going to attract all xenomorphs to my position and...gonna shot myself right after, - Heliford showed his pistol to Carl, making him shiver, - Simmons, beware of facehuggers, brown-ish crabs – they will jump on your face and knock you down for good, while xenomorphs will drag you to their Hive. Being killed by xenomorph is better, trust me...and you had one coming to you.

\- What?! - Carl quickly turned motion sensor on, which now was constantly beeping. It was one target, but it was slowly approaching right towards him.

\- Turn your sensor off, they will hear sound of it, - Carl quickly turned it off and he was looking around the room, trying to find a place to hide, - I will watch over you until you send the message and tell you where it is. Don't try to shoot it – pistols won't do shit to them.

\- Fuck, - Carl dashed towards the servers and hid among them.

His heart was ready to explode, that's how fast it was bumping. He turned all his senses to hearing, and he heard it – slow steps of claws against metal and low hissing among the beeping machines. Xenomorph walked pretty slow, but Carl new how actually fast Grace could be, and if she was from their material, they probably were at least as fast as she was.

\- He will be attracted to my voice, so move when I say, - Heliford was still on the videocom, typing something. Carl heard the claws on the metal getting closer, and hissing much louder,- OK, he's coming to me, go to your right, try not to make any noise.

Carl nodded – mostly to himself – and he slowly started to move towards his right, watching his steps and trying not to bump into servers. Peeking from the server, Carl slowly walked towards the one with number "20" on it, opening keyboard and holding Heliford's paper in his hands.

\- OK, he's nearby me and soon he will realize that he's fooled. You have to hurry.

\- I am, - Carl said in low voice, typing commands on the keyboard.

\- Christ, he's ugly up close...type faster.

\- I am! - said Carl again in low voice, deleting the message and typing new one.

\- Hey! Dildo-head! That's not the human you are looking for! Face me!...OK, he lost interest in me, and he is on top of the servers. He is moving slowly towards you.

\- Fuck, - Carl grunted, hiding behind the server looking on the ceiling. He saw a shadow moving on the wall in front of him, growing in size. Carl pressed the button, confirming the message, while watching the shadow getting bigger and more eerie.

\- OK, you did good, now you need to send it. I will target "Sunrise" mainly, since there's whole platoon of marines on stand-by...but you need to run, - Carl faced the camera with angry expression on his face, - Yes, run. I will close the door right behind you, it will stall him – we can't let those xenomorphs tamper with servers. I will just attract it…

Suddenly a scream emerged from the dynamics. It wasn't Heliford – there were some different screams, probably from PMC or local personnel. Carl saw shadow stop and turn away from him towards the dynamic, which was screaming in the opposite side of the room.

\- Now!

Carl dashed towards the door, and immediately he heard a strong growling sound behind him with sounds of claws clanking against the metal. He jumped towards the door, which shut itself pretty quickly behind Carl. He heard creature growl behind the door and his attempts to pry it open, but it was bolted down right away, as Carl heard bolts activating.

\- Now rush towards central operations, - spoke dynamics as Carl was running with his motion sensor on, - I already attracted xenomorphs to my position, since PMC's already here. Try to use electronic equipment to hide yourself, it worked last time a lot...good luck, Simmons. They are here.

When dynamics died, Carl knew that Heliford just shot himself, and now he had no help at all. With trembling hand he wiped sweat from the forehead, holding onto motion sensor and pistol, what was just mental support for Carl. He reached one of the facility's maps near intersection of the corridors and started to plan his moves towards central operations.

* * *

\- She will be fine, - said Emmerich, looking back at Pierce, - Simmons trained her a little with marines technique, and she also knows how to use weapons.

\- She never fought something like this...she never fought at all, - noticed Pierce, throwing frowned glance at director, - ...you never wanted to make her a weapon, director?

\- There were plans to improve her combat skills along with mental ones, - Emmerich reached for his card inside his labcoat and opened sturdy security door, moving inside. It was some sort of storage room with lots of stuff on the shelves and racks, - But that wasn't priority. And no, doctor, we will not discuss this further since we have troubles at hand, - Emmerich soon found two metal rods, leaving one to Pierce, - You probably need this.

\- Probably, - growled Pierce, grabbing rod in her hands, - What we are going to do with armed and armored PMC's, roaming around?

\- I actually have answer, - suddenly dynamics on the wall spoke with the voice of Heliford, - I am looking at Simmons, and he started reactor core. Other PMC's are retreating or dead...but some coming my way.

\- Heliford, glad to hear you. Do you have access for doors and emergency shutters? - Emmerich found camera and waved at it.

\- Yes, I have. I am already trying to stall PMC, but they just keep going…

\- Use mazes, Heliford, you need to stall them for good before we reach you.

\- Yeah, I'll try it, director. Try to go through "Beta" lab.

\- Search for Simmons and help him, we can't allow PMC send signal, - Emmerich nodded to camera and signaled Pierce to move.

\- Will do. Switching to him, - dynamics on the wall cracked, meaning that Heliford was now with Carl.

\- You have a plan, director? - asked Pierce, watching into the corridor for any trouble.

\- Of course, don't insult me, - growled Emmerich, patting Pierce on the shoulder and showing her the way, - We still need to find a way how to deal with PMC, but we need to initiate emergency destruction systems. Near "Beta" labs we can find east operations, from which I will try to initiate self-destruct.

\- What about other personnel?

\- Pierce, they are dead, either by xenomorphs or PMC. We can't save them, we can't waste our time, and we need to bury the secrets for good, - Emmerich suddenly stopped and pushed his hand to Pierce's chest, making her stop too.

At first she really wanted to strike Emmerich right between his eyes, but she heard movement. By the sound of it, it was one lone man who had too much weapons and...and he had motion sensor beeping, so he clearly knew that Pierce and Emmerich were nearby.

\- Director, I heard you talking, and I know you are with Pierce, - said muffled voice with the clicking sound of his rifle, - Come out.

\- I guess we have to do it hard way? - Pierce gritted her rod nervously, looking at director.

\- Of course. You know where nerve centers are, so aim at them, - Emmerich nodded and threw his rod from his corner towards walking PMC.

* * *

Carl was moving right, since he saw more and more bodies along with evidences of previous battles. Surely they can hurt xenomorphs, but it doesn't looked like PMC's weapons were designed for such thing. Surely they are much more accurate, but marine weapons were sturdy and packed a punch – Carl came to this conclusion while he was observing his pistol. What was also terrifying about this situation, is that he, and some other survivors, were not having much time since even one generator couldn't provide much heat and oxygen supply for whole facility forever. The temperature already started to drop, especially in places were marine bullets and xenomorphs acid ate the pipes, letting steam inside the corridors. Those corridors were already too tight for eight people to walk in, and that steam was obscuring Carl's vision a lot, meaning that he had to rely only on motion sensor in his hands.

He suddenly heard a bump in the door nearby. Carl jumped from the sudden sound, and he quickly turned towards it with motion sensor – it was one signature. The dynamics nearby came alive, and Carl heard voice of a young woman:

\- Uh, h-hello? Can you help me?

\- Lower the volume of speakers, - Carl pressed the button of microphone near the door, answering to woman's call, - They can hear it.

\- They? - gladly, woman wasn't stupid and lowered the volume as Carl commanded, - PMC?

\- And they too. I am gonna try to open it, just stay put, - Carl set motion sensor behind him and started to examining the door. Of course his ID card didn't read, so he have to find another way to this sturdy door. Soon Carl understood that door was with dropped bolts, but it had power...he can open it, he needed only time to do it, - What's your name?

\- Jane. You?

\- Carl. Nice to meet you, - Carl opened a panel at the top top of the door, and started to pick on some wires to understand how the door worked, - I am from engineering, don't worry.

\- Liar, you are Carl Simmons.

\- ...well fuck me, - sighed Carl, still working on the door, - Can't be blame for trying, right?

\- Everyone knows about you and object "A", - said Jane on the other side.

\- Why he call her "object", not a "subject"?

\- Well, it's...Carl, I heard something in the vents, - Jane suddenly lowered her voice, now whispering.

\- Shit, - he only now started to open the door, but it opened so much he could only get his hand through the opening , - Jane, stay closer to the door, I am trying to open it, - meanwhile Carl got his motion tracker and put it towards room with locked Jane. He counted one more moving signature, making him shiver with cold fear. Realizing that xenomorphs could actually hear the beeps from motion sensor, Carl turned it off.

\- What is it?! - Jane whispered somewhere from behind the door, so Carl couldn't saw her. At least lights were still working in her room.

\- Stay silent, - Carl whispered, trying his best to make door move to the sides, but it stuck for good...and he wasn't that strong to open the doors, maybe only with Grace they could have a chance. Still, he couldn't just abandon her here, and he tried other ways to start door moving.

\- It's...it's up there…

\- Just stay silent, I…

The vents from the ceiling suddenly collapsed, making Jane cry out from fear. Carl even dropped back in his ass, watching in total disbelief at the creature that he finally saw pretty clearly. In the red lights from emergency lamps stood big, but lithe creature, that was looking for the most part like Grace. But that creature was genderless, very...alien to the appearance, with mouth that was trembling in anticipation of blood lust, with some tubes on it's back and that was just eerie. Xenomorph lowly growled and he slowly started to walk towards Jane, who were just screaming in one place. He noticed Carl, and only growled to him, apparently warning that he's going to be next. Picking up motion sensor, Carl started to running away, trying not to went insane from the scenery he just observed and the sounds that Jane kept shouting, until she suddenly fell silent. He was still running, his heart pounded in his chest, his mind numb and empty, but at least legs carried him towards central operations.

When he suddenly saw a rod that was aiming at his forehead, Carl ducked just in time under it, taking rod in his hands and clenching his fist to hit…

\- ...Pierce? - Carl was looking at her in surprise. Last time he saw her, she wasn't so beaten up – she had bloodstains everywhere, her face had some bruises, there was blood in her hair and her clothes were tore a bit.

\- Christ, Simmons, - she sighed wearily, leaning on the wall behind her.

\- Look, I...I saw it, - Carl pointed back where he ran from, - Xenomorph. I actually ran from two of them, but last one was behind me.

\- Let's get to Emmerich, - she nodded, signaling Carl to follow her, - Did you saw Grace?

\- No, you?

\- No, she stayed behind, covering our escape, - Pierce opened the door into some sort of security compartment. It was one big hellhole – some PMC's were lying around, and the whole place was trashed by the battle that just happened here. Closing the door behind Carl and pressing the button to bolt it down, Pierce, who was trying to stay calm, despite her constant shaking, waved Carl to follow her, - We closed every went, but it won't hold them forever...director, - Pierce led Carl into one of the many corridors, where Emmerich was trying to open the door near him, - It's Simmons.

\- Ah, good. Mister Simmons, it looks like the PMC's were trying to breach this place and they failed...at least we are seeing failure here, - he was beaten up too, even worse than Pierce, - But they locked the door from the inside. Would you kindly open it for us?

\- Y-yeah, I just need some time, - said Carl, quickly taking instruments in his hands and starting to work.

\- Meanwhile, doctor, get us flashlights from the emergency closet. Just as precaution. Mister Simmons, does your weapon have ammo?

\- Seven, - answered Carl, opening maintenance panel and starting picking up wires again. He wasn't minding talk to Emmerich, since he still heard Jane's screaming and saw that creature walking just in mere meters in front of him. Emmerich noticed that Carl was fine, so he kept with talking:

\- Excellent. How good are you at shooting?

\- I never shot anyone with a military weapons, director, - growled Carl, hearing clicking sound from the door – bolts went up.

\- But still you didn't answer my question.

\- ...I can shoot, not good, but I can.

\- Than you will be in the back, with a flashlight...thank you, doctor, - as Emmerich spoke, Pierce came in with three red flashlights, giving them to men, - We going in, send the message to whatever source Heliford found for us, initiate self-destruct sequence and leave this facility.

\- What about colony? - asked Carl, finally getting the door slowly opened...at first, because the door suddenly decided to open as quick as possible.

\- We warn them too and…

It happened too quickly. Carl saw someone in the dark room, and the next second he was pushed on the floor, hearing gunshot along with Pierce's short scream. Quickly turning his head, Carl saw Emmerich sitting near the door in cover and Pierce nearby on the floor, with blood dripping from her labcoat. Carl didn't even thought – he just threw a flashlight inside the room and quickly took a peek from his cover with pistol ready. When he finally saw a man standing in the room on the flashlights spin, Carl pulled the trigger several times, before he heard loud sound of something hitting the metal floor. He lowered the aim, breathing heavily and his body shaking from what he just did.

\- Simmons. Simmons! - Emmerich shouted at Carl, who was just frozen, - How much ammo you have now?

\- ...f-four, - Carl swallowed, leaning against the wall and looking at digital ammo display, - The fuck happened?!

\- I suspect Pierce saw him aiming at you, and she took the bullet, - Emmerich crawled to Pierce, looking at her wound, - She hit her head during the fall, which is good, because she won't be experiencing pain for now...I'll stop the bleeding, but it's bad, - he started to rip his own clothes to make wound dressing for Pierce, - Get flashlight and look for other PMC's.

\- G-got it, - answered Carl, taking flashlight in his hand and slowly walking inside the room.

He found his first pretty soon – it was one of the PMC's, who got his helmet melted with his face, but he didn't die somehow from those wounds. Carl's shoot just pierced his already worn armor in several places, but he was still alive, since he was looking for his gun.

\- Fucker! - Carl kicked the PMC right in the chest, making him cough with blood, - You already dead, why you were shooting?!...oh, you know, fuck that question, - Carl growled in anger, aiming his pistol at the PMC's head, - Where are others? - said Carl, constantly looking everywhere with his flashlight.

\- H...here...everyone...died, - he had hard time to talk, with constant coughing and moaning, but still he could tell something, - F-fucker...lead...xenos...to us…

\- Did you contacted someone from the surface?

\- N-no...he locked...the terminal...we override it...and xenos came…

\- What was your mission? - said Carl.

\- Collect...subject "A"...dead or alive...retrieve Pierce and Emmerich...others are expendable, - he started to cough again with lots of blood from his mouth.

\- Who gave you the order?! - Carl pressed his feet to the PMC's chest a bit stronger.

\- I...dunno...Red knew, but...they took him...look...just do it...already.

Carl was standing there and he wasn't sure if he must actually kill him. He already died, and was an asshole since he got the worst job possible, but he was suffering a lot right now.

 _\- I can help you._

\- Grace? - soon Carl heard vent collapsing near him, and he saw her. She was in better shape than Emmerich or Pierce, but Carl saw scratches everywhere on her. Despite her acting like nothing happened to her, she was standing wearily, her shoulders and head lowered, - You alright?

 _-_ _No, I am not...but I appreciate your concern,_ \- she even sounded tired. Grace walked to him, looking in the direction of the PMC, who was still alive, _\- You have to do it now, Carl._

\- What, kill him?

 _-_ _Of course,_ \- she took his hands in hers, aiming towards the head of the PMC, _\- If you will not kill him, you will not be able to kill at all. I will not allow that,_ \- she put Carl's finger on the trigger, pressing her own against Carl's, _\- Do not close your eyes, I know you want to. Watch him, aim to the head...and…_

Carl didn't even had time to react or say something – Grace was too quick. She pressed her finger, forcing Carl's to pull the trigger and shot the PMC right between his eyes, splattering blood on the floor and walls behind him. Grace slowly pulled herself away from Carl, who was standing and watching at his first (and he hoped – the last) killed person.

\- Yes, Grace, I need your help, since we can't operate her here. See what you can do, - suddenly Carl heard voice from Emmerich, who stood up, allowing Grace to come closer to fallen Pierce. Director walked inside the room and walked towards the consoles with a corpse of Heliford on the chair nearby, pulling the chair away from him, - Alright, I have access, power...Simmons, what was the server?

\- Twenty, - said Carl, who felt himself empty from what just happened there.

\- Aha, found it...and Heliford also made it possible to transmit the message to the colony and some USCM vessels. And...done, now let's check the status of...damn it! - Emmerich suddenly crushed his fist on the console, making Carl jump from the surprise.

\- What is it?

\- The self-destruct system is offline in the most critical area...and, of course, you are the only one who can get it right, Simmons.

\- Where's the problem? - Carl shook his head, trying to empty it from the constant assaults of thought, and walked to the director.

\- In the Hive area, - frowned Emmerich, who was watching over the computer generated blueprint on giant monochrome monitor with several lights beeping red, - You have to go down there and reconnect the system to the central operations.

\- I saw xenomorphs going to the colony via the main pipe from the atmos processor, - said Carl, switching his mind to the task at hand, - So...I guess they all left us.

\- Probably. I can't be sure...but still you have to go. I will provide you with remote camera and biohazard suit, since I don't want you to contact with anything here, - Emmerich started to type commands on the main terminal, - The lift to zone "X" located inside the "Beta" labs, I will make you a copy of my access card...and we are running out of power, heat and air, so you probably have to repair some other systems too...Simmons, snap out of it! - Emmerich lightly hit Carl on the back of his head, - Face the reality – there are maybe some other PMC's you have to worry about.


	7. Chapter 6

**Author's note:**

 **First of all, happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed the first five days of 2017 in most positive way.**

 **Secondary, it's more than 1k views and, finally, 10 followers. I decided to make something special about this, and I want to share something first. In my town - which is Moscow, by the way - there was a pretty bad ass exhibition about Aliens, Terminator, Star Wars, Marvel, DC and other universes. But this specific exhibition had models of characters made out from refined scrap metal, and boy, the xenomorphs were just awesome - they captured the Giger feeling for sure. I also bought an action figure of xenomorph from the first movie, I just couldn't resist it. Happy as hell. Visiting such exhibitions is surely nice way to spend time and gain new ideas.**

 **Also I decided to share something about this fiction. I have in my mind a story, that - if people will show interest and support when I finish this one - will have two-three more parts. But there will be no Predators, not a single one, because I am a purist and will keep things that way. That's my vision.**

 **I also have some ideas for Warhammer 40k stories, all of sudden. But let's finish this one first.**

 **Enjoy. Comments appreciated, and don't be shy to talk with me via PM. I am the one who is shy here.**

* * *

\- Wait, what do you mean she will…

\- No distractions, Simmons, - Emmerich quickly returned Carl's gaze towards the monitor screen, but Carl slapped Emmerich by his hand right away.

\- What did you mean? Grace?! - Carl looked to the corridor, where Grace and Pierce supposed to be, but they suddenly vanished. Looking back at Emmerich, Carl was ready for tirade, when Emmerich sighed and started to explain:

\- We had a mental argument, since I asked her to discuss thit matter in private. She agreed to perform...actions, in order to save doctor Pierce. I will not explain this, but she probably will, when we have time, and since we have none...can we continue with the task, Simmons? - seeing Carl nodding, Emmerich returned back to the computer screen, typing commands, - Since there are no bio-hazard suits here, you have to find them, so here is the plan – get to the "Beta" labs, get the suits, get the shoulder camera's, connect them to central operations, and proceed to the entrance to zone "X", where I will guide you further. Meanwhile I will look over Pierce and try to establish communications with marines, especially with your favorite "Delta" platoon, since I watched them as closely as I watched you, - Emmerich glanced over Carl, noticing how depressed and angry at the same time he was, - You get it, Simmons?

\- Get to "Beta", get the suit, camera, go to the "X" zone, - nodded Carl, trying his best to focus on the task and trying to forget what just happened here...but he just couldn't help but glancing over the dead PMC from time to time, - We need communications.

\- Of course we need it, - Emmerich took a small hammer on the wall near him and smashed the window with it with several strikes. Clearing the area from the glass, Emmerich took one black metal box from the emergency closet, giving it to Carl, - Do you still have motion sensor?

\- Yeah, it's working, - Carl quickly opened the box, which held sturdy set of earphones and microphone inside, putting it on his head and strapping firmly.

\- Leave it to me, since you have Grace as your sensor, - Emmerich reached for another box, giving to puzzled Carl, - That is for her, because I probably must guide you both at the same time.

\- ...yeah, right, - Carl took the box and checked again ammo count on pistol barrel, shivering from the sudden feelings that washed him over.

\- Simmons, pull yourself together, for your sake, - said Emmerich, giving Carl black plastic card.

\- I will, - Carl shivered again, but he took the plastic card and inhaled deeply, calming himself down, - That's all?

\- No. You will encounter many things inside "Beta" and "X", and you must think that everything will be destroyed, - Emmerich glanced over Carl's shoulder and nodded to Grace, who silently walked inside the room, - But I can't say it for our research.

\- ...Heliford hid several copies, - Carl suddenly remembered about Heliford's paper, and he searched his pockets for it, giving paper to Emmerich.

\- Huh. Good. He left it in "Alpha" labs, but in several locations...they will be on your way to "Beta" labs, so you can grab the copies just in case. We clearly do not want this data fall in wrong hands, right, Simmons?

\- ...right, - frowned Carl in response.

\- Good. Get some ammunition for that pistol of yours, and go.

\- ...right, - Carl searched several bodies for the needed ammo, and soon he nodded to hybrid that was waiting for him, - C'mon, Grace, I will put this thing on you, - Carl showed Grace the headphone set, coming out from the central operations along with her.

 _-_ _Oh, a communication device,_ \- she walked with Carl a little further and sat on her knees, so it will be easier for Carl to strap the whole thing.

\- Yeah, it is, - looking over Grace's head, Carl couldn't help but scratch his own, since her elongated head was clearly not for the headphones. After some thinking Carl came to solution, starting to attach the headphones over her head. She wasn't talking, but he didn't mind it, since all he wanted right now is straightforward task to keep his mind busy, - I guess I got it right...at least it sits pretty tight.

 _-_ _Too tight,_ \- Grace slowly stood up, carefully reaching the headphones with her clawed hands.

\- Emmerich, you copy? - Carl pushed the button near his right ear.

\- Yes, loud and clear.

 _\- Oh, I can hear him too._

\- Grace hears you too, we leaving. Motion sensor in the corridor, - Carl nodded to Grace, leaving the central operations with her following him.

* * *

 _\- You are afraid of me._

They were slowly walking in the main corridors, heading towards "Alpha" laboratories. Carl turned his microphone off and set his headphones on his neck, holding his pistol tightly and trying to hear something...because it was too quiet. When he escaped the reactor he heard people around screaming and fighting, but right now it was just dead silence.

 _\- There is no one around us. We can talk._

\- We better move, and not talk, - frowned Carl, looking around the corner and pointing his flashlight into the corridor.

 _\- We can move and talk._

\- There is absolutely nothing we can talk about, Grace.

 _\- I do not think…_

\- OK, what the fuck you want with me?! - Carl suddenly turned around and shouted at Grace, - You want to talk about how you made me kill him? How I couldn't resist it? How I was frozen and felt myself paralyzed? That is what you want to talk about?!

She suddenly took Carl by his shoulders and rammed his back into the wall – not too strong enough to break something, but still it hurt Carl a lot. She was easily holding him above the floor in her firm grasp, scratching his clothes and skin with her claws.

 _\- I made it for you,_ \- she was still calm, but Carl felt that she was on the edge too, _\- Yes, I used pheromones and our connection. Yes, I made you kill, and I will do it again, and again, until you will be ready to kill on your own….otherwise you will die,_ \- she slowly released Carl from her grasp, making young engineer fall on the metal floor with a low grunting sound, _\- I do not want you to die, Carl, and I can't kill for you all the time. You have to do it_ _all by yourself_ _...despite how disgusted it feels to you,_ \- she helped Carl to get on his knees, still holding him firmly, _\- You taught me some things, and I will do the same for you,_ \- she suddenly smashed her fist on the pipe nearby, making loud sound and letting steam inside the corridor from the broken pipe, _-_ _This will be your second lesson._

\- Hey, is someone there?! - Carl suddenly heard the voice of the man from the other side of the corridor.

Grace smashed her fist on the pipe again, and she suddenly took Carl by his shoulders. With one quick motion, she launched young engineer through the steam, making him fall on his chest to the metal floor on the other side of the steam cloud. Carl didn't even had any time to recover – he heard pistol firing, and he quickly gathered himself to hide behind some big cart with metal boxes.

\- Fucking stop that! - yelled Carl, - We are on the same side!

\- Y-Yeah, everyone talks like this!

\- Look, I don't have any fucking trouble with you, I don't even know who the fuck you are! - shouted Carl from his cover, peeking a bit. He saw him – it was some guy with a gun, covering near the pipes...aiming right at Carl, - You can I just walk away?

\- No, you f-fucking not! G-give me your stuff!

\- How about "no"? And keep shouting and shooting, the xenomorphs will hear us.

\- They left, all of them! I saw them crawling into the pipe! But they will return, and they will make everyone carry their own! They fucking use us!...maybe they are using you!

\- Fuck, are you insane? How in the hell they are using me? And why? Can't you think for a freaking second and pull your shit together?...I am going unarmed, OK? I will drop the weapon near me, OK? - Carl slowly extended his hand from the cover, dropping his pistol on the floor beside him, - I will rise from the cover now, slowly, don't you dare to fucking…

Of course he shot him. The bullet hit Carl right in the shoulder with a great force, making him fall on his ass and miss other bullets over his head. Grabbing his pistol in right hand, Carl aimed at the pipes over the man's head, landing several shot to it and releasing hot steam. The shooter left his cover, and Carl took several more shots right to man's legs, making him fall to the ground.

\- Jesus fuck, Grace! - Carl shouted at steam clouds behind him, - Why the fu…

 _\- Look at him,_ \- she slowly emerged from the steam, pointing her clawed finger towards the screaming man, _\- Closely._

\- I-I was right, you are their fucking dog! - the man saw Grace, and he was trying to reach his gun that he dropped after the fall.

 _\- I am going just to stand there motionless, by the way._

\- Fuck! - Carl aimed his pistol at the man's palm that nearly grabbed the gun, and took another shot. The bullet hit man's fingers, leaving him with only two intact, and making him scream even more. Carl took a deep breathe and lowered his gun, looking back at Grace, - I am not gonna kill him.

 _\- I know. But you acted, which is more important..._ _let me see your wound_ _,_ \- Grace approached Carl and carefully started to examine Carl's shoulder, _\- Bullet went through...bones are intact...you were lucky this time, Carl._

\- Not lucky enough...can you watch him? - Carl ripped part of his shirt on the other arm, trying to make a makeshift bandage.

 _-_ _Sure,_ \- she slowly walked towards the screaming man, who was trying to put as much distance as he could between him and Grace. Carl took his time with bandaging his wound, and several moments after he followed behind her with pistol ready and watching his attacker closely. Now he could understand what she meant – he was completely insane. The shooter's uniform was covered in bloodstains and in some places it was eaten, revealing burnt skin and even showing his bones. His eyes were widened and in constant non-stop motion, his whole body was trembling, _-_ _I felt his presence, and noticed his...odd patterns._

\- Why the fuck you did this? - Carl didn't had any strength to yell, he just breathed heavily, looking at Grace with angry expression on his face.

 _-_ _You expected me to teach you in more comfortable way?_ \- she cocked her head to the side, _\- Not going to happen. I want you to survive, and I will ensure it...unless you want to die because you were not prepared for fighting._

She had a point. Carl lowered his pistol and rubbed his nose bridge, closing his eyes and trying to gather his thoughts. It wasn't easy, since the man under both of them was still screaming from pain, trying to crawl away with bleeding hand. Carl opened his eyes and took aim at man, who froze right at the spot, looking at the pistol's barrel with widened eyes.

\- Is that what you want? To kill him?

 _\- You already did. With those wounds, and without treatment, he will bleed out quickly._

\- Is he really insane, Grace? - Carl gripped his pistol's handle tightly.

 _\- His thoughts are...chaotic. You tried to reason with him, and you saw the result._

\- ...I can't, - Carl lowered his weapon, glancing at Grace over his shoulder, - I won't. Not like this.

 _\- Is there difference?_

\- He lost his fucking shit, Grace! - suddenly yelled Carl, - Of course it's different! I can't fucking kill him!

 _-_ _But he can. He fired, despite your peaceful attempts to negotiate. It did not work out...without me guiding you, you would be already dead,_ \- Grace took pistol from Carl's hand at aimed it at the man, who was just mumbling some nonsense, looking at hybrid, _\- Do you object what I am about to do?_

\- Like I can stop you…

 _\- ..._ _you can,_ \- she suddenly turned her head towards Carl, _\- You already condemned him to slow death, I will grant him quick one. Decide._

\- ...do it.

* * *

\- Simmons, is everything alright? You were out for a long period of time.

\- We just ran into some trouble, nothing we couldn't handle, - grumbled Carl in response to Emmerich's question.

\- Where you are?

\- Approaching "Alpha" labs, - Carl glanced over the facility map he just stripped from the wall on the way.

\- Hand instructions to Grace, she will find those copies quickly. And Grace, don't forget to mark your progress.

\- She will, - Carl responded, stopping right at the giant doors with "Alpha" sign above them. He took Heliford's paper and handled it to Grace, nodding towards the doors, - I will be here.

Without any response, she quickly set on all four's and ran inside the labs, crawling over walls and ceiling with loud clanking noises of claws colliding with metal.

\- Emmerich, how's Pierce?

\- Stable and ready for transport. Grace managed to find a way to save her, so she will be fine.

Carl leaned against the wall with heavy sigh, which Emmerich noticed:

\- Is everything alright, Simmons?

\- Despite this entire situation was your fault – yeah, I am fine, - he checked his pockets, taking out packet of cigarets and plastic lighter, which he found on his way to "Alpha" labs.

\- Think of it this way – this could not happen if this sabotage wasn't planned so well, - Carl heard Emmerich typing something quickly on his keyboard, - Someone fooled both PMC's and Heliford with several people from the engineering team, condemning this facility and colony for extermination. It was not in plans at all.

\- Than what was? - Carl lighted his cigarette and inhaled shortly, letting out cloud of steam, - Judging by the name, you wanted some sort of biological evolution?

\- Evolution, Simmons. We, as human species, are too fragile for the worlds outside from Earth...you know it yourself – you can't walk in vacuum, you can't live in extreme conditions without any tools to even the odds. The xenomorphs in terms of evolution are perfect...but I can guess they were designed that way.

\- Designed?...you mean, by other lifeforms?

\- Yes. We even had evidence of other intergalactic species existing, but...well, I will talk about it later, you are not ready yet for this information.

\- Fine...By the way, why you were calling her "object A" before, and now you calling her normal?

\- I have no intentions to make any attachments to xenomorphs, mister Simmons. To me, they hold great potential and secrets, but they no mere than biological weapon.

\- Why so? - Carl inhaled again, watching closely to every vent and every corridor path.

\- The xenomorph embryo have magnificent properties of adapting the genetic code of every species we tested.

\- Than what was…, - Carl suddenly heard a sound behind him, something slippery running in the shadows. He took several steps back from the entrance to "Alpha" labs, trying to find something with his flashlight, - I heard something, call Grace off.

\- She already heard that, the headphones are linked, mister Simmons. Try to put as much distance between you and the noise.

\- Right, I will…

When Carl heard a low growl behind him, he realized how fucked he was. Slowly turning over, Carl dropped the cigarette from his mouth and unconsciously took several steps back, watching the xenomorph figure slowly coming to him on it's two hinder legs.

\- Jesus fuck, one of them is here, coming to me, - whispered Carl, still taking steps back to the entrance to "Alpha" labs. He nervously swallowed, keeping eye contact on the xenomorph that was approaching him slowly, - Grace, I need you here, right now.

\- ...Simmons, check behind yourself and cover your face with your palm, and do not turn back to xenomorph. Now!

Carl quickly turned around, putting his open in front of his face. He heard xenomorph making clanking sounds that were coming closer and closer to him. Carl tried his best not to piss himself, ran away in screams and die at the same time, as he was trying to understand why the hell Emmerich told him to do exactly this.

There was a movement, somewhere in the vents. Carl heard xenomorph stopped right behind him, probably covering his escape, and he heard him slowly hissing in...anticipation? Carl couldn't understand, but still he stood with his palm open in front of his face. He moved his flashlight, trying to find what was here, when something jumped in front of him, landing right at his palm. Carl screamed, falling down at the floor and trying to hold something he couldn't even process, because suddenly he felt something around his throat, tightening slowly and trying to choke. When Carl's brain started to work again, he was pretty much regretting it – he was staring right at some sort of ugliest crabs he ever seen in his life, with a large tube that was trying to reach his mouth. Long slender palms of this creature were trying to get a hold on his head, while it's tail continued to choke Carl.

 _\- Hold on!_

The xenomorph suddenly hissed loudly, right before a big shadow leaped from nowhere, pinning him down to the floor. With one quick motion, Grace stabbed her claws inside xenomorph's neck and ripped it apart, quickly throwing acidic blood for her hands and coming to aid Carl. She started to pull the tail from Carl's neck while holding hostile creature in her other hand, securing Carl's safety. When he finally was free, young engineer was coughing on the floor and Grace walked several meters away around the corner, ripping creature in two halves. She threw acidic blood away again before she reached Carl to help him get up.

\- T-thanks, - Carl coughed again, feeling himself dizzy, - That...were the crabs Heliford talked about…

\- Yes, - Emmerich sighed with relief, - Unofficial name "facehuggers", no official name since our biologists loved that one. Their sole purpose is to implant embryo inside the host and die off, leaving host with short-term memory loss and developing embryo inside.

\- ...that man...fuck, - Carl coughed heavily again, trying to regain his senses, - He was talking about xenomorphs using humans…

\- What man?

\- That man was our little problem I was talking about, - explained Carl wearily.

\- Aha. He was right – the xenomorphs have castes for hunting down hosts and taking them to Hive, where host are to be secured and impregnated.

\- What happens after?

\- It could take up to twenty four hours for embryo to develop, depends on conditions and host itself. After that...it claws it's way right through the host.

\- ...what makes it worse, is that you actually serious, - Carl nodded to Grace, finally being able to stand on his own, - Thanks, I...I really owe you. You got the copies?

 _-_ _Yes, everything checked out,_ \- she showed Carl little bag, which was lying nearby – she probably dropped it when she jumped on the xenomorph...and there was another bag with big red cross on it, _-_ _And_ _I also found something to help you._

\- Emmerich, we are out for several moments, Grace is going to help my wounds.

\- Are they serious?

\- Not much, but can be, - Carl nodded Grace, who grabbed two bags and right now she was standing in front of him.

\- Grace knows human biology, Simmons, she can help you. If she can't, consult with me.

\- Got it. Simmons out, - Carl turned his microphone off and opened medical bag, searching for something inside. When he finally found it, he showed the bottle of antiseptic to Grace, - You have to hold me, because this is going to hurt like hell. Can you hold me and pour it on the wound at the same time?

 _\- Yes,_ \- she opened the bottle, _\- You will scream?_

\- Well, probably. Since there's no gag inside, I will scream a lot.

 _\- ...I have an idea,_ \- she poured some of the bottle's solution over her arm. After some searches inside the bag, she found sterile wet wipes which she used to rub over her arm, _\- You can use my arm. Your teeth are not strong enough to break through, and you can hold on me while I am doing this._

\- ...that's actually smart, - admitted Carl, who took Grace's arm in his both hands. It was weird – too weird – to think that he actually must bite her, but what choices they had? Carl's screams could attract more trouble, which was not an option, he clearly understood that. But still...he was a little entrance by sensation of her skin, whatever it was...meanwhile Grace took him by another shoulder, firmly, and she was ready to start, - There's also medical stapler there, you must use it to stitch the wound right after, - when Carl saw Grace nodding, he nodded in response, - Do it.

It hurt more than Carl could imagine, and he nearly immediately sank his teeth into Grace's arm. Well, she was right – her skin or chitin was very tough, so they both could relax about possibility of Carl eating acid. Still, he made short muffled scream and breathed heavily, since Grace poured on his wound in short sessions from both sides. She reached package of wadding, wiping the solution around Carl's wound:

 _\- I have to stitch it from both sides,_ \- she turned her head to Carl, and when she saw him nodding, she continued, _\- Just let me see the instruction._

She spend less than a minute reading the instruction manual for using this medical device, understanding principals of it's work. She even quickly changed stitches inside the stapler, and then the most painful part started – Grace changed her arms, preliminarily disinfect it too, and now she was holding stapler in her one hand, while she was constricting the wound with her other hand.

With the first click of stapler Carl was yelling inside the Grace's arm, while trying not to move at all. She quickly made several other clicks with stapler, sealing Carl's wound from one side, making him grit his teeth against her skin even stronger than before. His shoulder was burning with pure pain, his mind felt numb, but it was far from over – Grace changed positions, now holding Carl from behind, but reaching other side of his shoulder with empty hand still.

 _\- Take some time,_ \- she placed her chin on his healthy shoulder, making a long sigh, _\- Otherwise you will pass out._

\- Y-yeah…, - Carl was distracted by Grace's sudden movement, at least for the moment.

 _\- ...I only want you to survive. Maybe I am doing it too harshly and pretty much straightforward, making you do hard decisions that you are just not ready for...but I want you make you ready. Can you understand it?_

\- ...guess I can, - Carl slowly nodded, glancing at hybrid near him, - I just…

 _\- I know...you must let me guide you, Carl. Let me in and change you as I see fit for your own survival...but you are afraid, and have...trust issues with me…_

\- I know what you are trying to do, - Carl interrupted her, and she turned her head towards him with puzzled feeling, - And...you are right. After all, you are right, and I must adapt, - Carl let out long sigh, and pointed to his shoulder, - Let's finish this.

When she finished stitching Carl's wound, Grace also applied bandages over it, and soon Carl was moving behind her, turning his microphone on.

 _\- We must move. If there was a drone roaming, others could be nearby._

\- Drone? - asked Carl, grabbing the bag and moving with Grace now to "Beta" labs.

\- Glad to hear you, Simmons. They have castes, - Emmerich quickly and suddenly responded, - With different tasks and different gene strains. The drone is the most simple form, yet it alone can overpower any man in close combat, and have senses and instincts far beyond our level. But you can outsmart them.

\- How? - Carl put a cigarette into his mouth, but Grace suddenly turned around slapped it down to the floor with one quick motion. Carl got the hint, and hid cigarette packet away.

\- They are somewhat intelligent, but see them as newborn children – they are curious, they do not know outside world and the rules of it, and you can use it.

 _-_ _It was aware of me, but it was not ready for me,_ \- Grace grinned a little, swaying her tail happily, _\- I already fought their warriors, and they were more of a challenge. Still, Emmerich right – you are no match for them, even for a drone._

\- Just wait for me get my hands on flamethrower…

\- ...It's actually good idea, Simmons. The xenomorphs are extremely vulnerable to sudden exposure to extreme temperatures, both high and low. Since their exoskeleton can adapt to nearly any temperature, the sudden exposure to low temperatures, for crude example, liquid nitrogen or better, or highly flammable liquid could deliver thermal shock...or probably worse.

\- Worse?

\- It can start chain reaction with it's acid, which is true to high temperature exposure...and explode it from the inside.

\- So if I use flamethrower, I will take a bath with acid...great, - sighed Carl, walking right behind hybrid with his pistol ready.

\- You can always try nitrogen, - proposed Emmerich calmly, - And I suppose the flamethrower would be a good weapon for Grace, since she is not suited to fight multiple enemies.

 _-_ _I took down four warriors at once, alone! Tell him right now!_ \- Carl couldn't help but grin at her sudden change of behavior.

\- She took down four warriors, Emmerich, at same time, and I saw how she ended drone in a swoop.

\- Well, nearly hundred xenomorphs left.

\- ...what?!

\- And I guess by the time you reach zone "X" to initiate self-destruction, there will be more. I just reached the "Sunrise" and contacted it...the colony is falling apart, Simmons. It's simple math – even if half the population would be killed in action, it leaves several thousands of new xenomorphs. We can not allow those species leave this planet alive, especially in terms of reaching Earth and Weyland-Yutani laboratories. I am trying to convince USCM to use nuclear weapons.

\- ...Emmerich, but what about evacuation, and all those people?! - Carl even stopped in his track, shaking a bit from the thought of using weapons of mass destruction with people still alive somewhere.

\- Simmons, there are two choices. First – we commencing full-scale evacuation, and both evacuation forces along with refugees are attacked by xenomorphs...or worse – we bringing them to space vessels. Second – we evacuate whoever we can and leave as soon as possible. I prefer the second one for obvious reasons...are you near "Beta" labs?

\- Yeah, nearby, - Carl started to walk again with Grace now following him, - But…

\- Simmons, I will explain myself and we leave this subject for good, - said Emmerich with irritated voice, - Weyland-Yutani sees xenomorphs as I am – a biological weapons of mass destruction on population rather than industry. They wanted to study those species and bring them to their laboratories on Earth, but all attempts lead to failure, especially that incident with our research complex inside prototype space vessel years ago. I saw xenomorphs as a means for evolution, means for seeking answers and questions, rather than just money and power...I made lot of things, Simmons, - Emmerich sighed on the radio heavily, - And I would do even more and far worse, but I never will endanger us as species with foolish delusions. This is a precedent where we must avoid further tragedies and make no traces left for anyone who will seek them. The only things we must save and hide are research data and Grace, other lives are irrelevant, including yours and mine. Do you understand, Simmons?

\- Pretty much, director, - Carl slowly nodded, despite the fact that Emmerich couldn't see him. Carl hated it, but he was starting to understand Emmerich better, his motivation and fears...of course he couldn't forgive director for what he done to him, Grace and others, but at least he knew that there was something good inside Emmerich, - ...we near the entrance to "Beta" labs, and...it look's like shit.

\- Language, Simmons.

\- But it is, - Carl was looking at the big thick plasteel doors, lying on the floor or just being torn apart from the inside by some fierce force along with acid. Carl also saw claw marking on the doors, that looked pretty familiar with the marking he saw at reactor area. Gesturing to Grace, Carl started to slowly walking towards entrance, - What you were holding inside?

\- The one being who have full control over the Hive – Xenomorph Queen.

As Carl walked past by many ripped plasteel doors, he walked with Grace inside a giant containment room, that was pretty big and tall, with a set of big restraints that were just torn down. The only source of light were emergency red lamps and Carl's flashlight, therefore whole room felt ominous from dancing shadows and reg light. Carl started to shiver as he realized, what the PMC's encountered near reactor, and how tall that creature might actually be.

\- Christ, that walls could hold a tank...

\- Despite my best attempts to...limit information and contact with personnel, along with establishing our little agreement, she probably knew what to do and where to run, - Emmerich made another commentary, typing something on his keyboard.

\- Agreement? - Carl found a giant door on the side, and started to walk towards it.

\- Well, better call it "fact". The "fact" was simple – we kept her here for studies, and let her Hive under the complex do whatever they wanted...of course under surveillance, with all precaution method and constant pressure on the Queen. It was our best defense system, since they can overpower nearly anything in short amount of giving time, except this...do you see a maintenance corridor?

\- Yeah, which one to take?

\- If you facing it, and the main corridor is behind you...it will be on your left, yes, and you should follow arrows to B22.

Grace opened the maintenance door easily, letting them inside. They spend some time walking inside the tight corridor, avoiding steam from broken pipes and trying not to hit their heads, but Grace smashed some pipes with her elongated head. She didn't felt the damage, though. After some time they arrived to another door, and Grace opened it too, since all doors here were jammed due power shortage.

\- ...Emmerich, the fuck is that?

\- Is that room B22?

\- ...yes.

\- Try to figure it out yourself, Simmons. You also must walk through it towards B20, where elevator located, but I suggest you to prepare before embarking down there.

Carl and Grace both were standing in the room with tons of glass jars, canisters, tubes and tanks. Despite low illumination, Carl's flashlight was strong enough to reveal very ugly contents of those jars and tanks. Inside the small glass containers, there were fetus-like creature, malformed, twisted, degraded, that had similarities with Grace and xenomorphs. Inside the bigger tanks there were more mature organisms, which looked even more horrible, with their jaws in their elongated heads or their body being inflated from something. As Carl walked, hearing only footsteps of Grace, he watched those creatures in outright disgust and pity at the same time.

\- ...they were experiments before her. Some of them were even still alive when she were born, - swallowed Carl, looking right at one creature that was like Siamese twins.

\- They were. In fact, our knowledge of xenomorphs is...limited, and Grace is what Pierce considers "a pure miracle multiplied by extreme luck". I guess it's true, since we still have many questions unanswered.

\- Emmerich, do you have a plan for "Beta" labs, by the way?

\- Of course not. Every laboratory wing have a map, yes, but they are stored inside the wings, not on the outside servers. Again – preventing sabotage. Look for the map on the terminal nearby, should it have power.

\- You clearly thought of almost everything, - Carl found something that was looked like a terminal, and he inserted Emmerich's copy of his ID-card inside it, quickly browsing available commands, - Found it, gonna print right now. I guess I have to visit storage units before heading to suits.

\- Don't forget shoulder cameras.

\- I won't, grandpa.

* * *

It took some time, but Carl and Grace soon were occupied with creating makeshift weapons for self-defense. Emmerich was right – even if Grace could engage up to four-six xenomorphs at once, there is no way she could survive more, especially if they surround her. That's where Carl's genius and experience came in – with everything they gathered he created one flamethrower, using propane gas as main fuel and another canister for liquid spray. When they field-test it, Grace suddenly sneak behind Carl, holding her hands on his shoulders and watching from his back on the flames his weapon produced. It was her instincts, and only with help of young engineer she managed to take flamethrower in her hands and start using it. After several bursts she got used to it a little better, and Carl could focus on creating his own weapon.

Liquid nitrogen alone will not be enough to emit low temperatures in a short period of time, it could take forever just to freeze something small as a lock. But, thanks to scientific progress, humanity had new substances for many applied fields. With Emmerich's help, Carl got not only the needed access to the storage areas, but also he got Emmerich himself to guide engineer in order to construct a weapon with pretty much opposite effect. Despite it wasn't actually able to freeze the target right away, it was able to create needed thermal shock. When weapons were ready, Carl strapped a shoulder cam over Grace's shoulder and with her help he got into bulky sealed suit. Grace turned his oxygen supply on and strapped tiny camera to Carl's own shoulder.

 _-_ _I lost my mobility,_ \- Grace noted, checking her back that was holding now two full canisters. Thank providence she hadn't have those strange dorsal tubes other xenomorphs possessed, and it was pretty to strap everything.

\- Don't tell me about it, - grunted Carl, pulling his own "freezer" on his back, - You remember how to use it and what to expect from it?

 _\- Of course. And we attack both targets at once, not in the same direction but preferably from both sides for better effect._

\- Sounds simple, and it should work...Emmerich, we are heading towards elevator. How's our response team?

\- "Delta"'s coming. I warned them about everything – about Grace, Pierce, facility's condition and other matters…but apparently they split into two squads – one will provide safety for extraction zone, and another one is moving to us.

\- ...there's a catch, right? - sighed Carl, putting ID-card inside the slot and waiting for all light to turn green.

\- A storm is coming. They will drop everything they got, but we will be without air support and evacuation until storm passes.

\- Damn it…

\- You better hurry, Simmons. Despite the storm, we still don't have much time...I am rerouting some power down here and to elevator.

Carl nodded to Grace, and they both entered room with a big platform-elevator right in front of them. As they both approached the elevator and started it – thanks to emergency power – they both nervously looked at each other. Grace, of course, wasn't showing her emotions, but Carl could swear he felt her anxiety. It was getting worse as they continued their way down, looking over the giant shaft. What was weird for Carl, it's how old all those walls were, along with the elevator...which didn't make any sense. By the look of it, this elevator was build before the Emmerich's facility, which still puzzled Carl. Where the fuck they were descending? What happened here?

As they slowly reached the bottom of the shaft, Carl and Grace both were paralyzed by what they saw. It was giant cavern with pillars supporting upper layers of eyes everywhere, and in the distance they saw it in all it's alien glory.

\- You both now know something billions of people wouldn't believe.

It was a giant object, that was shaped like a crescent. It's design was...grand, and in a way in reminded Carl about xenomorphs, because had it's aesthetics – tubes, smooth cover that reflected light, definitely not human in origin. But what also stunned Carl, is the fact that there were some facilities nearby, small compartments, some sort of fences...and everything was covered in some sort of black substance, which was spreading all over the place. That substance was pretty similar to the ship and Grace's design in some aspects, sharing common feeling. Whole cavern was a dark place, lights worked only around pillars, compartments and on the road to the ships entrance.

\- The fuck is that, Emmerich? - swallowed Carl, trying to believe his own eyes.

\- It's a xenomorph Hive near the crushed alien spaceship, mister Simmons. Proceed to post number one, it's on your left side, - Carl nodded, gesturing to Grace and taking steps left, still looking in awe at alien vessel, - The first colony died, but there were...survivors. They survived in this pit for long time, eating each other or whatever they could find, until they found this ship in their search for new food or way out...code for the panel two two zero one, - Carl made the correct input, opening security door and coming inside small compartment, - How is the power?

\- Good, we have it, - answered Carl after checking it on the special meter, built in the compartment wall.

\- Start the computer. So, back to the story...first xenomorphs emerged from them, and last survivors were overrun by them. Xenomorphs retreated inside their Hive and lied here dormant for twenty years, until Company decided to take another attempt, since new metals were discovered here...put my security card inside the receiver...and when big Company teams arrived, they picked up the signal from this alien space vessel. Of course it lead to xenomorphs awakening and new tragedy, but this time Company put me in charge, and I made everything I could to contain them. We build this facility over the graveyard, Simmons.

\- What now, director?

\- Type the scan command...so, when we finished working on the facility, I was warned from my colleagues about possible xenomorph extraction by the Company. I put some strings to get USCM here along with Network customs, even made several advertisement for colonists and workers, - Emmerich let a loud wearily sigh and took a pause before he continued in lower voice, - As I suspected, they wanted the Hive to remain as it is, and granted me everything to make experiments. Of course I provided them only basic data, while we were trying to create something that could step out from the boundaries of our fragility. A next type of human, living hundreds of years, unaffected by radiation, toxicity, illness, gene instability, with perfect defense mechanisms and room for improvement...the choice, Simmons, was simple – worlds in chaos of biological warfare or next evolution step. I chose the latter...can you understand it?

\- ...probably. You still asshole, but...I can understand why you did this, - Carl looked over the monitor and quickly continued, - I found the issue, it's nearby, and I am going to examine it.

\- Simmons, word of advice – do not enter this ship at all costs.

\- I won't. It's too fucking creepy even to look at, - Carl shuddered a little, and gestured to Grace, - And we better bury it for good.

When they got out from the post, Carl only now realized how empty this all place was. Probably the xenomorphs made their Hive inside the ship, since it was too quiet everywhere, but Carl noticed signs of previous battle...or, better word, massacre. Human blood along with some white from androids was here in large , while xeno's blood was in small puddles and drips over the substance.

\- I guess it's same material as yours, since there's no reaction with acid, - Carl was trying to take slow and cautious steps, because one wrong step would mean his feet burn to the bone and suit breach.

 _\- ..._ _there is something here. It spotted me,_ \- suddenly Grace turned her head towards the ship, still going along with engineer, _\- Not as powerful_ _as I felt before_ _, though...but we better hurry._

\- Good idea. Can you tell that thing that we don't want to mess with their Hive? - Carl stopped near giant wires and bent his knee, looking over them. They were damaged by acid, but nothing he couldn't handle with instruments he took along with him.

 _\- It could sense my lying, I better not talk to it...and it's coming to us._

\- Shit...we have to kill whatever it is before I can do repairs, - Carl took the plasma torch from the tool belt and sliced a big piece of resin from the side. He opened it and stuffed tool belt under the resin, getting on his knees and marking the spot with "X" via his torch, - How bad it is?

 _\- Bad. You can see it._

When Carl looked back, he shivered from the force that was slowly approaching them. If xenomorphs drones were just taller than regular human, that thing was much taller than Grace, nearly four meters. Like the all xenomorphs it has very alien design, but it was strange – half of it's head was normal, elongated, and the other half was like Grace's shield-crest, but only with three points at the end of it, instead of Grace's five. This creature was slowly approaching them right in the open, hissing lowly.

\- It's the praetorian – elite guard cast. There are few of them, but they are extremely dangerous, Simmons.

\- It shouldn't be tough, he's…, - as Carl wanted to end his phrase, he saw several more xenomorphs slowly crawl nearly from everywhere, supporting the praetorian, - ...alone, - Carl gripped his weapon tighter, trying to breathe calmly, but his heart was like on illegal racing with trunk full of drugs and cops on his tail, - Grace?

 _-_ _They won't accept my challenge – they considering me impure,_ \- she hissed at xenomorphs surrounding them, gripping her flamethrower, _\- We have to fight them._

\- There's, like, ten or…

 _\- Twelve. Not counting the praetorian._

\- Twelve. Great, - Carl nervously inhaled, trying to just think of something, - Grace, spray the liquid in a large cone around you, but don't start the fire, - he took several steps, getting behind Grace and pushed her several steps further.

 _-_ _You have an idea?_ \- she started to press the button on her flamethrower, spitting flammable liquid over the resin around her. As Carl thought, xenomorphs stopped, puzzled at Grace's actions.

\- Not now, but it stalled them while I can fucking think, - replied Carl nervously, looking behind him and from the flanks for other hostiles.

\- Simmons, Grace, your best bet is to destroy all smaller xenomorphs before engaging praetorian directly, - suggested Emmerich, - And running is best strategy right now. I suggest you to seek the places where androids were, since they were armed with long-ranged weaponry.

\- Grace, can you imitate malfunction of your weapon? - Carl started to change the pressure on his "freezer" unit, which was a bit hard with sweat dropping from his forehead.

 _-_ _I can,_ \- she started to do the same to her flamethrower, _\- And we abandon our weapons here?_

\- Yeah. We will show them that our weapons are out of juice and run, - Carl watched as smaller drones approached them, - But you must ignite the liquid you sprayed and immediately drop the flamethrower...on my mark...and...mark!

She did well – Carl saw her actually shivering during short work of the flamethrower. It ignited the liquid, setting it on fire and creating defense burning crescent around them. As Grace dropped her weapon, a lone xenomorph jumped through the fire, only to be met by Carl's "freezer"...for a short duration. It was enough to confuse the xenomorph and drive him inside the burning crescent, making it catching the fire and running away with a painful shrieks. Carl dropped his "freezer" and started to run towards the post, with Grace following him from behind. He heard the shriek of praetorian, which was full of rage and power, but still it wasn't the one he heard in the reactor. As Carl was running, he suddenly stopped near white blood stains and followed them quickly. Carl heard some noise and xenomorph shriek behind him, and when he turned around, he saw Grace showing xenomorphs own tail inside his head...while it's legs were ripped off. She threw the corpse of the drone towards the next one and followed Carl, who still was looking for a weapon where synthetic was killed. It was nearby, and as Carl grabbed the hand, he pulled off something really helpful from the darkness.

\- Grace! Cover me, I have to check it! - he started the maintenance check on the weapon, trying also to understand how much ammo left for it.

 _\- You better hurry – praetorian encourages them to attack me,_ \- Grace was occupied with a battle, and Carl saw only moments of it, but those moments were truly amazing – drones were no match for her speed, strength and experience, since she was improvising with mixing her own style with marine's training.

\- Yes, it's ready! Take it!

 _\- ..._ _smartgun?_ \- Grace quickly jumped to Carl and carefully took weapon into her two clawed hands. She quickly turned back, facing a pack of xenomorphs running to them in zigzag pattern, _\- How to operate it?_

\- I already did everything, you just need to point the gun and press the red button on forward grip. But make short controlled burst to conserve ammo.

 _-_ _Like this?_ \- Grace pushed the red button, and made a burst in a cone in front of her, stopping xenomorphs right away. She grinned and pushed the button again, firing it at nearest drone, exploding it in a process, _\- I don't like weapons, but this one is fun!_

\- Good for you, you don't feel how heavy it is and how hard is recoil, - growled Carl, getting behind Grace and slowly pushing her to the left, watching their flanks and backs. He suddenly saw a xenomorph on the pillar, that was ready to jump on Carl, - Left!

He turned her to the side, and Grace quickly made this drone explode in several pieces. Carl took cover behind the Grace, remembering about acidic blood – Grace was fine, but one drop could be enough to kill Carl right away. He saw another pack of xenomorphs behind them and turned Grace towards them, when he suddenly realized that she was laughing...vocally. She never used vocal type of communication, only telepathic one, but right now she probably was enthralled by the carnage. Her laugh was...powerful, at very least, and her voice was very mature by the sound of it. Shivers ran down Carl's spine not from the realization, but from the feeling that Grace put in her laughter that Carl couldn't even able to describe.

He noticed xenomorphs to late. Two drones suddenly appeared from the flank and jumped on them, aiming mostly at Grace and her weapon. Carl hear her surprised scream along with sound of smartgun being broken into pieces. Carl fell to the ground, and he saw drone's tail aiming right at him. Carl quickly rolled to the side and heard tail striking at resin with pretty much disgusting squishy sound. Grace was fighting two of them at the same time, but not for long – she gathered herself and ended those drones quickly, ripping their throats and using her tail to penetrate them both from the side. Pulling her tail out of the drone corpses, she got up only to face the last survivor of the Grace's carnage.

Praetorian. He was rushing towards Grace even when she was fighting drones, but rather then smashing her or using hands to capture, it's tail suddenly emerged and shot forward, aiming at Grace's leg. She dodged that, but praetorians tail suddenly shot towards her again, coiling around her own tail tightly and smashing her to the ground.

 _\- ..._ _that hurt,_ \- she even whispered to him with a grunting voice.

\- Keep him busy, I'm after the weapons! - Carl only now returned to his senses and started to run to the place were they dropped flamethrower and engineers "freezer". Carl looked back, only to see praetorian smashing Grace against supporting pillar with such force, that she fell to the ground without movement. Carl's blood froze in his veins, since now Grace was unconsciousness, or even dead, and praetorian was running right after Carl. He wasn't as fast as drones were, but for his size he was running pretty fast. The open spaces of the cavern were also bad thing, there was nowhere to run, only to the still burning crescent, where their weapons lied.

\- Simmons, flamethrower is better choice, - suddenly suggested Emmerich, - Since your "freezer" could be used only with it in pair…

\- I fucking know! - yelled Carl, running towards the flamethrower and quickly setting the pressure right. But when he turned towards the direction of praetorian, who was on his tail whole time, Carl was facing only darkness and pillars with flickering lights. Realization came upon him rather quickly, and he dashed to the side as praetorian landed right where he was from the nearby pillar. Carl fell to the ground and rolled over, facing praetorian and spraying the liquid all over him. Praetorian wasn't even puzzled, he was moving closely, making it easier for Carl to actually spray as much liquid as he could.

Suddenly something hit Carl's leg. He screamed and nearly dropped the flamethrower, as the praetorian's tail penetrated his suit, striking Carl's hip. Whatever it was on it's tail, it was spreading fast, Carl already lost control over his legs. Gripping his weapon, Carl with his last strength made a short burst from the flamethrower, igniting praetorian fully. It's tail quickly withdrew from Carl's hip and he made several steps back, looking down at Carl with shivering teeth, while he was growling with what sounded like irritation. The flames done nothing to him, he was just annoyed to the core, probably...but Carl wasn't giving a single fuck about it – the suit is damaged, his hip bleeding, and he can't move his body, but still he can breathe, probably for worse. His vision started to fade into darkness, and before he finally closed his eyes, he could swear that something was pulling him away from the xenomorph.


	8. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:**

 **Took long enough...it was the chapter I was re-writing constantly, deleting entire sections because I wasn't happy with results in terms of story. And it was supposed to be EVEN BIGGER, but I decided to end things like this and make next chapter focused on...well, you could guess by it's ending.**

 **Another thing. When I started this experiment, I told myself not to prostitute about follows/favs/reviews, but after some time I came to interesting conclusion - it's actually needed to measure people's interest, criticism and support. So, you are welcome any time you want to fav/follow/review, because I want to make interesting story to keep you entertained, and if I fail at this - let me know.**

 **Now. About the problem that some people thought critical (and they are right) - grammar and tenses. There was a nice beta-reader that offered his help, but for now I decided to not use any outside help, at least for this fic. The grammar is fixable thing with the help of right people, but the story-telling is another thing. This, right now, is the test not for my grammar, but for my skills as writer in general, which I consider much more important.**

 **So...I probably will take some time for resting (probably, because I can't help but write further), and since I am working again, it will take probably a bit longer than this chapter to write the next one.**

 **Enjoy.**

 **PS: God damn those typos! Sometimes I write a word, and my brain thinks that I wrote it correctly, while my hands wrote it with errors...or completely another word. Argh. Reason number 42 to get beta reader.**

* * *

He was a stubborn prey, but the poison quickly weakened him. But, in last attempt of self-defense, he tried to harm the praetorian with his flame-spitting weapon...to no effect – her carapace and biological systems were even better than most of the sisters, and she was just standing tall, observing the human while her carapace was producing some for of protective liquid to keep temperature down. She slowly coiled her tail to grab the human, but suddenly she saw her, dropping from the pillars with strange weapon in her left hand, quickly taking praetorian's prey by his shoulder and pulling him away. She revealed her teeth to her and lowly growled in anger, seeing abomination taking hold of human's flame-spitter in the same hand that already held another weapon.

She was too human, despite how close to them she looked. She was too caring, despite her dominant aura. She was...not them, and she never will be, but little ones were refused to lay children inside this abomination since she had the scent of their kind. A powerful scent…Praetorian took careful step forward, looking at the weapons in her opponents hand. She was holding the human in her grasp and tried to take him as further as she could, covering him in a resin that hybrid sliced from the nearby walls and from the floor. He is a dead weight to her, they both knew that – is he falls into praetorian's claws, she will do her best to get a child inside him...but what bugged praetorian, it's the determination the hybrid had, since she was already beaten in quick motions by much more powerful foe, and still hybrid wanted to fight on.

Well, she had another thing in her hands. As praetorian observed via the hive mind and personally, it was some sort of weapon that could induce low temperatures. It wasn't bad, but along with the flame-spitter it actually was rather effective pair of weapons, as praetorian observed. She had no intentions to come into the range of this weapon...only if she wasn't who she was. Praetorian started to take more steps towards the direction of the hybrid and human, growling ans showing her teeth to the hybrid. She thought that her victory was a decisive one, since this weapons couldn't start to harm while praetorian would enter it's range, and she would deal with hybrid by herself, as she smelled the fear from her.

But hybrid sat there suddenly, doing nothing. Probably she lost her will to fight, thought praetorian, as she saw hybrid lowering her head in a submission. Yes, the victory was hers, and hybrid even accepted her fate. With a mighty roar, she made another step forward, with her claws trembling to rip the hybrid bones and flesh apart, when the hybrid suddenly rose her head straight up and looked at the praetorian. She was puzzled at the sudden change of behavior and aura that she emitted, and that was the moment praetorian knew – she lost the battle of wits. The hybrid threw the flame-spitter towards her and pulled another weapon, making a loud sound and small explosion from the weapon's battel. Suddenly the flame-spitter exploded right in the praetorians face and poured her in flammable liquid, adding even more flames to her still burning frame. She shook her head, quickly regaining her senses and tried to step forward as she saw another tank being throw at her. Praetorian gritted her teeth and sliced the tank in one quick motion, sealing her fate.

It was the tank from Carl's "freezer". It opened and washed the praetorian's carapace with extreme low-temperature liquid and gazes while the praetorian herself was still burning everywhere. The sudden change of temperature was enough to start her chitin cracking, spatter her acid blood from small cracks. Praetorian fell to the ground on her knees and tried her best to reach the hybrid with her swift tail attack, but she wasn't fast enough – hybrid took her tail and quickly cut praetorian's tip with her own, making praetorian screech in utter disgust, since she was losing against someone impure. The hybrid even continued – she quickly reached the praetorian and, after ducking under her clawed hand and detaching it with several tail consecutive tail strikes, she cut down one more arm before she started to shove her tail inside praetorian's cracks, striking deeply under the chitin. Praetorian tried to get up and strike the hybrid with her legs, but the hybrid quickly broke them, continuing on torturing the praetorian. She couldn't even reach the hybrid with her jaws, even the inner one, and she tried every possibility to harm the abomination, to no success.

As the hybrid finished torturing the praetorian, she shoved her tail all the way through her skull, breaking her jaws and coming from the other side of her elongated head. The last thought of a dying praetorian was a message to the Mother – she must be warned, she must knew about this dangerous creature, that even she couldn't ultimately stop. As her body dropped on the ground, the last praetorian's thoughts died when hybrid smashed her head with her feet.

\- Good job, Grace, - Emmerich let a sight of relief, seeing her coming from the battle victorious. She already finished praetorian and ran back to Carl, carefully removing resin that took acid splashes, - Check the oxygen tank for any damage, since the air here is too disperse for Simmons to breathe, so make sure he is still breathing the air from oxygen supply, - after a minute Grace showed to her shoulder camera "OK" gesture, and Emmerich could also confirm that oxygen was still there for Simmons to breathe. At least for a while, - Good. You still have a wound and suit leakage to worry about, Grace. You need to stop the bleeding, preferably removing any bacteria from the wound, and you know how to do it.

She knew, but she must be extremely accurate at what she was about to do. Grace bit her finger with enough force to make her acid blood appear in a small drop, and she smudged the acid on her other finger, covering her finger in small thin layer. She opened a part of damaged Carl's suit and slowly started to led her finger over Carl's wound, using thin layer of acid as some sort of cauterization. It would be enough to close and kill bacteria, but she already saw the forming scar on his hip. A small price for survival.

\- Good, can you seal the costume the same way? - Grace showed "OK" again, and soon she was using the acid to melt two sides together of Carl's broken suit, - He still need to be decontaminated and quarantined, but we don't have time for this right now. Can you go to place where problem occurred with self-destruct mechanism?

She took Carl's tool-belt and strapped it around herself, lifting Carl on her both shoulders and walking towards the sliced wires. She carefully dropped him near the wires and opened his tool-belt, searching for something. Soon the revealed to her shoulder camera Carl's plasma torch and wirecutters.

\- We are lucky this is basic repairs, and we don't need help from mister Simmons on this one…I will guide you.

She quickly repaired the wires, and Emmerich confirmed that everything is now set for self-destruct sequence, initiating the procedure. Grace quickly dashed towards elevator and smashed the button to make it go up, while Emmerich was instructing Grace further:

\- I set the alarm off, so the Hive won't notice any changes, but you better ran back to me – we must examine Carl for decontamination and possible infections...head back as fast as you can, marines will arrive soon. Don't worry – they won't open fire on you.

 _Of course they won't. I will rip their throats._

She waited for decontamination procedure to end, spitting very disgusting liquid from her mouth, and when doors finally opened, she was running with Carl on her shoulders. He was slowly coming to his senses, at least she noticed his breathing becoming more audible through the suit's integrated dynamic. It was good news, but still not good enough – who knows what might got into his suit? She kept running, avoiding the xenomorphs that were still roaming this place, and soon enough she flew into opened door of central operations, which closed quickly behind her. Emmerich was waiting for them, and he was wearing suit similar to Carl's, only it was white. She ran to the medical compartment, grabbing Emmerich by his shoulder on her way to the medical bay. Emmerich was grunting, but he didn't make any commentary on Grace's behavior, which was smart choice – Grace was on her edge, her tail was swaying around, showing how nervous she actually was. She placed Carl on the white medical bed, quickly ripping of his suit to shreds.

\- Open his helmet, I need to check his breathing and pulse, - Emmerich was nearby with, preparing several large machines and devices. Grace quickly shredded Carl's helmet and removed it from his head along with oxygen mask and tank, and Emmerich attached some wires to Carl's neck and left side of his chest, right where heart was. One of the machines came alive, and soon Emmerich concluded, - Pretty low, but nothing major – he is in state of sleep, as I can tell...show me his wound, - Emmerich walked around the bed, turning his flashlight on and taking syringe inside closed plastic case from the drawer nearby, - I am going to take blood sample and run some test, since we have power for our mainframes. It will take time, but marines will come here in several hours.

 _\- Too long._

\- I presume that Simmons told you about this planet's climate? - Emmerich opened plastic case and took out the syringe, carefully aiming it at Carl's ugly wound on his hip, - We have no choice but to wait for rescue, guarding both Simmons and Pierce from the Hive, - Emmerich slowly filled syringe with Carl's blood, and after a while he opened drawer next to him, taking medical patch from it and applying it to Carl's hip, - Since we need their ships to actually leave this place.

 _\- What happens after we escape?_

\- ...I don't know...yet, - Emmerich walked past Grace to the machines nearby, putting Carl's blood sample inside one and turning it on, typing commands on the keyboard, - I will think about it, but you must know this – I won't Company have you, and you can sense I am not lying to you, - he finished typing, making machine work with low buzzing sounds. Emmerich turned towards Grace and sighed under his protective helmet, - I am not expecting you to trust me, or forgive me, but I expect you to get over our personal matters for the sake of our mutual survival.

 _\- You still there, standing and talking. I guess that is the best answer._

\- Good. Because I want you help me with Pierce, since you...done something to her. I can't even tell if she is dead or alive, because…

 _-_ _It is for her protection,_ \- quickly responded Grace, moving to the bed that was closed by white curtains. She pulled curtains away, letting Emmerich come closer to the medical bed, _\- But...I guess I shouldn't done that to her. I don't know if she is able to make it._

\- The main problem is not only I can't determine her state, but also I can't come with any explanation for the marines, - sighed Emmerich, looking at bed with Grace, - At least those beds have rollers, so the transportation is not an issue.

 _\- ..._ _she is alive. I can sense her pulse...weak, like Carl's,_ \- Grace moved her head further to the bed and placed her clawed hand on it, _\- But she is alive._

When they finished with Carl and Pierce, Grace sat at the door, while Emmerich was typing something on the terminal near him. Sometimes he went to central operations to speak with marines and help them navigate, and sometimes Grace warned director about the coming of xenomorphs. She managed to scatter some drones off, and while she wasn't fighting, she was staring at Carl's bed. He was still unconscious, but at least he was stable for now. Grace pressed her head to her knees, while she was sitting at the door, and let out audible sigh.

It's going to take a while before Carl wake up. And she is going to keep both him and Pierce safe while they are recovering from their wounds.

* * *

He slowly opened his eyes, staring at the white ceiling. He felt like a train went right through every part of his body, and it was a bit hard to breathe at first. Carl tried to get himself from the bed, but all he could do is to rise his hand above the bed for several centimeters for three seconds. His hand feel down to the bed, and he saw something shadowy coming towards him, something big and towering. He felt a familiar clawed hand that touched his palm along with presence inside his own mind.

 _\- Don't talk. You were paralyzed by praetorian's poison,_ _and...well, you still feel the effect, - she lowered her face, probably observing him closely, - I had to close your wound on your hip, and left a scar, so don't freak out...Marines are closing in, but Emmerich suggested to transport you on roller bed, and I see why. Don't even think about it,_ \- she pressed her finger to Carl's lips as he frowned in protest, _\- You are not a burden, if you were – I would abandon you long ago, so take it easy. I will get you to safety._

Carl rolled his eyes, but he had to agree with her...and even if he wasn't, there is nothing he could do due to his condition. He blinked again ans slightly nodded, agreeing with Grace.

\- Good. I also applied some saline, - Carl heard Emmerich's voice and closed his eyes, since he couldn't even talk with him properly, - But I have no idea if it will actually assist in your recovery...rest for now, Simmons.

After what felt like eternity, Carl finally could feel his fingers moving. His breathing became more steady, his heart was pumping a bit faster, and generally the poison was starting to wear off. Very curious poison – it could actually kill him, but the dosage and properties were just right to put him in comatose state. Those xenomorphs held many surprises, making Carl agree with Emmerich – they were nearly perfect as a biological weapon. But that ship...it held xenomorphs or those facehuggers inside, meaning that someone tried to transport them somewhere, but for what purpose? Preservation of ancient species? Weapons for galactic-scale war? Research? Trade? Cultural meaning? He can't even comprehend what that ship was, it could be a military vessel or just space freighter.

 _Shit is too complicated._

 _\- But you think in right directions at least,_ \- suddenly said Grace, interrupting his thoughts.

 _How long you were listening?_

 _\- Right from the start. I do not know what that ship could be either...but maybe Emmerich have answers. I'll ask him._

\- ...ship? - Emmerich suddenly spoke, turning to Grace and Carl, - Well, I have only theories, since it is just too alien for us to make solid statements, and possibly they are the same as yours. I guess the most closest one is a theory about using xenomorphs as a weapon in a war long passed, - Emmerich sighed under his protective helmet, quickly glancing over the videocom nearby, - Despite the fact that xenomorphs could be a product of natural evolution, I found it unlikely. Probably it was genetic engineering on the level we can't even start to approach...What we done was like a children playing with sand inside full-size sand castle, so...I do not have the right answer.

 _Not even the data recorders, black boxes, symbols? Or something containing information at all?_

\- They probably store the information...but in a specific way, - answered Emmerich after Grace relayed Carl's question. He moved a bit forward, grasping his hands together, - They had a Pilot – biomechanoid lifeform, which was alive and part of the ship at the same time. This Pilot was not meant to leave the ship, but to fly it for his lifetime...and this Pilot didn't die from the old age, but from tragic events that he somehow couldn't solve on his own. Even their technology is not without flaws, but still it stands thousands of years of progress away from us.

\- Hey, Emmerich, you there? - Carl suddenly heard very familiar voice of Steiner, who probably was on videocom, - We are...oh fuck me, is that her?

\- Yes, corporal, it's the biological lifeform I was talking about before, - sighed Emmerich, turning to the videocom and answering to it.

\- Well, at least that princess looks not so scary...and a bit like us, - Grizzly suddenly made a commentary, - We are approaching elevator, ETA – five-ten minutes. You better grab everyone and head to hangar in two. You made everything on your side?

\- Yes, you don't need access or passwords to access facility – I lifted everything.

\- OK. When we arrive, we will wait for five minutes before departure. "Delta" out.

\- Grace, you take Carl and lead the way, I will get Pierce. And probably I should get rid of that suit, there is no point in it anymore.

Grace nodded, and she quickly pulled Carl bed towards the exit. Carl also heard how Emmerich was pushing another bed, probably with Pierce on it, but he couldn't see her. He tried to turn his head back, just to be able to see Pierce, but Carl suddenly realized that he stared at Grace's flat and somewhat muscular stomach. Despite that she was looking similar to xenomorphs, with all black chitin and strange tubes that were all over her body, she retained female anatomy in general. On closer accidental inspection Carl realized that we was entranced by her stomach, and he quickly pulled his head back, feeling how his face becomes red from embarrassment.

 _\- Two things. First, I am flattered. Second, you are bad at pretending you weren't looking._

\- I just wanted to see how Pierce is doing, - grumbled Carl in response, trying to push the provocative thought out of his head.

 _\- Two months together, and only now you see me as a woman. You are rather slow, Carl._

\- It just never occurred to me.

 _\- Liar._

\- ...OK, it occurred, I just pushed…

 _\- Liar again._

\- ...wait, - Carl threw his head back to see Grace. She looked at him with a wide grin on her face, - You?…

 _\- Of course. I guess your tactics to "wait until she falls asleep" was not effective, since it was I who waited._

\- ...great. Kill me, - Carl grumbled again, letting out a long heavy sigh.

 _\- Not going to happen. We can rather...talk about it later, since you are very disturbed and embarrassed at the same time...feeling even guilty. Relax – there is nothing to apologies for. Focus on what we have to do right now._

When they actually made it to the hangar, Emmerich switched with Grace, since he wanted to enter the hangar bay first and warn the marines about Grace. They of course were already warned, but probably were on the edge and could accidentally pull the trigger. Emmerich ran towards the opened doors to hangar bay, and after some time he yelled Grace to come slowly. She pushed the roller bed with Carl on it, and Carl had to close his eyes with his hand – marines brought a lot of lights with them to illuminate whole area, and since Carl was running around for hours in dark environment, he could damage his eyes easily. As Grace stepped into the light, Carl heard some mumbled swearing from the marines.

\- As you said, Grizzly – she's less scary, but still…, - Carl heard voice of Steiner, who sounded very tensed.

\- You can go faster now, princess, we won't harm you, - it was now Grizzly talking. As she said it, Grace quickly picked up the pace, - Get him inside this thingy. Carl, how's your eyes?

\- I better close them for some time, it's too bright out here.

\- It's a bit darker inside the vehicle. OK, people, we got the VIP,'s let's roll! - Carl heard Steiner commanding marines, and soon he heard them going inside the vehicle. When the APC's doors were closed, Carl took his hand away from his eyes and opened them.

What he first discovered, is how all marines here were just...tired. It was a section, half of the platoon, which was here. Steiner, Grizzly, Dmitri and sergeant Willis were here to Carl's relief, as the rest of the section, but they all looked like shit. Emmerich was sitting nearby, and there was another roller bed next to Carl, but it was closed tightly, so he couldn't see anything. It was probably Pierce inside, as he hoped. Carl also noticed that APC was loaded with weapons, heavy one's too, and it carried some marks from previous battle – dried blood and familiar areas where metal was eaten a little.

\- Put on the oxygen masks, Tanner, get us out of here, - commanded Willis, staring in utter disbelief at Grace, - Do we need oxygen mask for her?

\- I don't know, sarge, - Grizzly moved to Carl's bed with small oxygen tank and a mask, - Princess, if you need anything – just wink.

 _\- Why they keep calling me "princess"?_

\- I don't know, Grace…

\- What did you say, Carl? - Grizzly turned around, watching him suspiciously.

\- ...I forgot about this. Grizzly, don't freak out, OK? Grace, ask her the question, - Carl quickly put on his oxygen mask and set the right pressure.

\- Don't freak out about wh…, - Grizzly suddenly widened her eyes, staring at Grace with a clear expression of fear, - ...OK, I am freaking out. How she?…

\- She can, - sighed Emmerich under his mask, - I was keeping this information from you, but she can perform limited telepathic communication.

\- Great, can't you talk like normal? - grumbled Willis, who was keep staring at Grace, - You have mouth, and...Christ, don't do that all of sudden, - sergeant shivered, and he suddenly yelled, - Tanner, I said to get us out of here!

\- I am! The elevator is just too slow! - yelled driver in reply.

\- Christ...so, while we are stuck here, director, will you provide us some enlightenment about all that shit that is happening? - Willis walked up and sit right in front of Emmerich, crossing his palms together, - Because otherwise I will beat it out of you.

While the elevator with APC was slowly rising to the surface of the planet, Grace was looking through the armored window at the facility inside the large crater, sometimes turning her gaze to Emmerich, who was talking about everything he knew and did. Willis, along with other marines, were listening to him closely, and sometimes they asked Carl and Grace to confirm some moments of director's story. Emmerich, to Carl's surprise, wasn't holding anything back, and revealed lots of information with marines:

\- We have research copies, corporate mail, and other evidence to prove everything I said. We had permission from military department...but not for this project, - Emmerich nodded towards Grace, who was looking at blue-ish snowstorm right now, - She was done by my initiative.

\- Christ, - Willis rubbed his nose bridge, letting out a long sigh, - Do you have any ideas who can be involved in sabotage?

\- We have only theories, but whoever wanted the sabotage, he wanted to ensure that no one will escape from the planet, - Emmerich closed his eyes, and after some pause he continued, - I guess we received the signal from the outside source that triggered this chain of events.

\- ...Weyland-Yutani's ship, "Arbiter", - suddenly spoke Grizzly, who was tried to poke Grace when she wasn't looking. She stopped her attempts and turned to Emmerich with Grizzly, - They entered planet's gravity well three days ago.

\- They could possibly send the signal. Did you try to ask for their help? - Emmerich opened his eyes, watching Willis intensely.

\- We asked, but lieutenant said they experienced some major malfunctions on the ship, - Willis nodded to director, - Sons of bitches...they planned this very smoothly. And now we can't leave because they could just annihilate our ship, which is unmanned right now...Christ, - Willis threw his head back to his seat, pressing both hands to his face, - We can't leave, and we can't stay. Great…and they wanted to destroy whole colony...for what purpose? What can be the final goal, Emmerich?

\- The Company wanted to take xenomorphs to Earth, for closer study – it was their primary goal for nearly hundred years, as my knowledge goes, - replied director, - They had several attempts to get the species, but they all failed. Right now I can picture their plan, give me a moment, - Emmerich paused for some time, gathering his thoughts. He frowned, and after a long minutes of him thinking, he finally answered, - It was a brilliant plan. With several sabotage teams, who didn't even knew about each others existence, they released xenomorphs into facility, and eventually, into the colony. Xenomorphs wiped everyone in the facility by killing or making them living hosts, while also running into one possible direction – atmospheric processor's air supply pipe. The colony was hit hard, the processor was lost, and over forty to sixty percent of the colony was lost – due to surprise attack – before local administration was able to call for USCM. I tried to pull strings for your relocation, when you suddenly closed "Sunrise" for quarantine, leaving you the only one survived platoon.

\- Yeah, you are right, Emmerich – others were wiped out, since they didn't see them coming, - Willis nodded, agreeing with Emmerich, - We closed ourselves because Steiner released some sort of virus that made very nasty diarrhea, - Willis glanced to Steiner, who quickly cut his smile from his face, - I guess he wanted us to stay here for a while to keep tracks on Carl, now it makes sense.

\- What happened at the colony exactly, sergeant?

\- We received a distress call from "Charlie" platoon's lieutenant – he called us for help, since he was the only one who survived long enough to establish communications with "Sunrise". Our lieutenant cut our platoon in two sections – we were initially a recon squad, while other section was to hold the landing bay with the survivors.

\- How many survived?

\- When we arrived, we counted a hundred, maybe less, - Willis cleared his throat, shivering a little, - Others are killed due to xenomorphs or friendly fire. But since there were little bodies to find, they probably now just nesting new xenomorphs inside…

\- There would be thousands more…, - Steiner said with a terrified voice, - Second section wouldn't even stand a chance.

\- When all forces are wiped out, the Company's PMC's are going to gather several specimen and be on their way, probably they will kill all the workers on the moons too, - continued Emmerich, - If we are to retreat to "Sunrise", their ship will open fire on us and other survivors. The outcome is simple – total destruction of the colony, with no survivors at all, and Company finally get their hands on xenomorphs, along with all data on my project and other valuable information.

\- But why they can't just take your data and be off? - asked Grizzly with puzzled pale face.

\- Maybe, there is something more to it, but right now I have only one theory, - Emmerich closed his eyes again, trying to think straight, - This tragedy officially will be a terrorist attack, as Acheron was, and the Company, with new xenomorphs as their living weapons, can launch an unprecedented marketing – they will show the world new means for massive scale war, and they will use xenomorphs as a means for profit in proxy wars. Imagine this – a massive destruction of the colony and just like that the Company "develops" new biological weapon for retaliation. Millions of dollars for research, billions in profit, world is safe and happy.

\- So...that is all about money? - Willis stared at Emmerich with plain face.

\- Money and power, to be correct. This is the only plan that could make them not only a huge profit for Company, but help them to lobby what they wanted and turn every colony into battleground. But maybe there is more to this plan, I can be entirely wrong, since we lack the information.

\- Great...so, our only option is to make them think we are dead, otherwise those PMC's won't come down from the "Arbiter".

\- Correct. But I must insist to leave not through your "Sunrise" ship, but rather on my own.

\- Your ship? There's only two of us in the orbit, - Willis rose his eyebrows in surprise.

\- It's hidden inside old graveyard, and has some stealth technologies, but it can be seen by normal eye. Still, electronically that ship is undetectable, and can help us to leave the system, also avoiding Network with customs.

\- ...how the fuck you built that? - Willis, to Carl's amusement, was still be able to be surprised.

\- I did not. I stole it from the Company, using bureaucracy against them. I lived a long life, sergeant, and I wanted to be sure I would survive a little more, - Emmerich closed his arms on his chest, - Since the Company will search for me, Grace, Pierce and other possible survivors, we probably need a ship like this for our escape, because the USCM, with all evidence we have, won't believe us – I know that some high-ranking officers were bought by Company several months ago. If we deliver the evidences, they could disappear with us easily, because Company has too much leverages. They are not concerned about your lives at all, the worst will be for three of us – others will be just dead.

\- Now that's just fucking great, - said Grizzly, getting close to Emmerich, - What is worse, is that he's fucking right. Hey, princess, you can sense thought and stuff, right? - she turned to Grace, who slowly nodded, - Was he lying?...god fucking damn it! - Grizzly suddenly dropped a spare helmet from the rack above her and kicked it across the APC.

\- Rooks, calm the fuck down!

\- How the fuck I am going to calm down, sarge?! We go up – they blow us to pieces, we stay here – we xeno's food, we going to USCM – they will pull some strings, we go rogue – we fucked still! - she was yelling with such anger, that it made Carl press himself into the bed. Grizzly tousled her head nervously as she sat down in the seat nearby. Other marines had a grim expression on their faces, silently agreeing with Grizzly. She sat down and closed her eyes, letting out a loud sigh. The APC went silent for a long time, until Dmitri spoke:

\- Our option is to go rogue. The Company pulled too much resources to make this happen, and probably they are not stupid to leave us alive when we show up.

\- Well, they could make us responsible for this incident, - Steiner scratched his head, eying Grizzly, - And fuck us up harder than we could think of... so going rogue is a not best option, but the only one we have where we can actually do something.

\- Fucking Company, - Grizzly inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself down, but still she was pretty much pissed off, - OK, so we going rogue, and what, we trying to prove what they did here? What lawyer will take this fucking case? What chances that we will win legally?

\- There are no chances, - said Emmerich, looking at her, - Just options and possibilities. But I can tell you this – we will have better chances if we go rogue.

\- Sarge? - Grizzly shifted her gaze to Willis, - What do you say?

\- ...I say we are in deep shit, Rooks, - sergeant closed his eyes again and pressed his fingers on his nose bridge, - Whatever option we take, we pretty much fucked...but, as director here said, if we go rogue, we have better chances not only to survive, but to take Company down, - Willis opened his eyes and took a look at every marine in the APC, watching them closely, - We will vote on this one. There are two options – we continue operation as normal and return to nearest USCM base, where we probably will be fucked, a lot...or we going rogue for undefined time until we have enough evidence and means to fight Wey-Yu. Who's for first option, raise your hand right now.

No one raised. But when Willis said about voting for second option, everyone put their hands up.

* * *

\- So, how we can get whole PMC down here?

Carl was munching his protein bar, while he was listening to the conversations. When adrenaline went off, he was pretty much hungry, gladly marines had some emergency food and water. Sure, the protein bar tasted like recycled toilet paper, but beggars can't be choosers.

\- They probably will be attracted to atmospheric processor malfunction, - suggested Emmerich. They were still driving through the snowstorm in the APC, - Since it can explode with such a force that whole colony will be destroyed. The Company surely hired engineers for that scenario – the Acheron still fresh in their minds – and they will come down in large numbers to repair the damage or shift their timetable.

\- And we have the guy here that knows a bit about the processor, - Willis looked at Carl, - Right, Carl?

\- Yeah, I worked there for some time, - he nodded in response, - You want to blow it up?

\- Since we have no intentions to leave any xenomorphs to the Company, destroying the processor would only benefit us, but we must be sure that those xenomorphs will be inside the processor or at least inside the colony, - Emmerich rubbed his chin, trying to figure something, - We need to make a distraction to draw their attention from the second section.

\- ...the Queen, - Carl suddenly spoke. Everyone turned their head towards engineer, as he continued, - We should attack their Queen directly, endanger her enough to make her summon all her forces. I don't think she ventured far from the processor, she's too big for long travels.

\- How big that Queen is? - Willis asked carefully.

\- Five-six meters tall.

\- This gets better by a second, - grumbled Grizzly. Other marine were also not so optimistic about it.

\- Hey, shut up! - Willis suddenly yelled at grumbling marines, - I have a plan, but it requires our princess here to play the main part, - Grace cocked her head to the side, since she wasn't understanding what Willis had in mind. Meanwhile Willis got a colony map and places it on folding table, that was built inside the APC floor, - Dmitri, Steiner, Rooks – gather up, Princess, put Carl nearby, - Grace took Carl from his bed and places him inside the seat, securing him tightly. When other marines were nearby, Willis started to explain his plan, - When we arrived, we tried to locate the missing colonists by their implants, and majority of them were inside the processor complex. Director?

\- That's where their Hive will be, - nodded Emmerich, getting the idea, - And the Queen must be nearby their position.

\- This is a long-shot, but we have to pull it through...while the snowstorm still there, we can't communicate with "Sunrise", but we can order second section to abandon their positions and move to the processor from the opposite side.

\- Whoa, sarge, hold on a second – they will abandon civilians, - noticed Steiner, - And they will be done for.

\- Not exactly. As Emmerich said, and as I observed our princess here, those xenomophs can transmit their thoughts on pretty much long distances, right, director?

\- That is correct.

\- So, - Willis continued, - When their Queen notices that she is under attack, she will pull everyone back to the processor. We unite with second section here, at the main entrance, and we will move inside. Grace, you can not only talk, I hope?...yeah, we need you to sense them...good, Grace can track down the Queen once we are inside the complex, and here comes the Carl – while we are keeping them busy, you will be escorted by Dmitri's fireteam, Take as much explosives as you must, but make sure it won't blow up right on the spot, - Willis looked at Carl, especially watching his leg, - You have to walk.

\- I know, - Carl nodded nervously. He wasn't sure if he can walk fast enough, but at least his wound won't open.

\- Once we drop and unite with second section, Rooks with her fireteam will be in the APC. You must protect it and be ready for our extraction, you got that?

\- Yes, sir.

\- When the processor is compromised, we have to wait for the PMC's before leaving the planet. Gladly, our "bird" is fine.

\- I thought you were dropped down, and your dropship left right after, - suddenly said Emmerich.

\- The storm hit us hard, so we placed "bird" in the hangar bay. It's our ticket out to your ship...when we deal with the PMC's here, we have to evacuate the remaining survivors to the "Sunrise" before the complex will explode. There are some ships in colony's hangar bay, we will use them.

\- There's no better plan, and it's a fucking long-shot, but...it could work, - Grizzly nodded.

\- If we can convince second section to not open fire at Princess, - noticed Steiner.

\- It could work, - Dmitri also nodded to Willis, - And we can pull it.

\- Tanner, how long before we reach the colony? - yelled Willis at driver.

\- Fifteen minutes, sir!

\- Dmitri, get me second section, I have to talk with their sergeant, - grumbled Willis, moving with Dmitri towards the consoles.

Carl closed his eyes and tried to relax, but he was too nervous. He felt Grace's hand on his shoulder, and when he opened his eyes, she was sitting nearby him, watching him closely. She wasn't talking, but she was here right now, and only that mattered to Carl. He placed his hand over hers and closed his eyes, sitting silently for the rest of the travel to colony, listening to marines chatter. It took them some time to reach the tunnel, leading inside the colony complex. The large pressure gates were closed, of course, and they have to send Dmitri and his fireteam to open the way, and while marines were working to get gates open, Carl watched on the monitors along with Grace, Emmerich and Willis how marines operated.

\- Grace doesn't sense anyone, but keep motion sensors online all the time, - said Willis quietly, looking at hybrid nearby. Steiner was sitting near the exit hatch of APC, ready to storm towards Dmitri on Willis's command.

\- Roger. Saito, check the wiring here...the gates were closed from the inside, but they have power, - reported Volkov, who was covering his fireteam's rear, - Just give us time.

\- Keep the chatter, - Willis switched to dynamics and took off his headphone set, glancing over Grace, - With her help it would be a bit easier...Emmerich, what those xenomorphs are also capable of?

\- They are perfect at genetic adaptation, and at adaptation in general, - Emmerich rubbed his chin reflectively, - I can only suggest that they could adapt at high rate to whatever they encounter, developing new species and means for fighting. But it's only suggestion...but there are some advices to fight them effectively – shoot their limbs and keep distance, always keep eyes on flanks, rear, ceiling and cellar. Flamethrowers could do some damage also.

\- Our smartguns were useless, by the way, - said Steiner suddenly, - They not emitting any infrared signatures?

\- Precisely, - nodded Emmerich, - No infrared, no thermal signatures. Those motion trackers you have are the best way to detect xenomorphs.

\- We done, returning to APC, - dynamic cracked with Volkov's voice all of sudden.

When gates opened and marines moved the vehicle inside, Carl was looking through the monitor to detect xenomorphs or other threats to their APC via camera on it's roof. If infrared and thermal were useless, and night vision was also not a good idea, they really had to depend on motion trackers. But camera, even with a night vision, could only see the tunnel around, which was eerie quiet, making Carl very uneasy for the rest of their trip to colony.

Those thoughts left Carl's mind as the APC left the tunnel and entered the colony itself.

He wasn't even believing what he was observing. When he left, it was maybe a claustrophobic place, bit it was full of people, constructions, life in general was bursting here. But now it was ruins – burned personal vehicles, blood with guts and ripped limbs, signs of xeno's acid blood everywhere he could see along with collapsed buildings, some of them were still burning. Whatever hit the colony, it hit hard, and the resistance was rushed one – the colonists in order to protect themselves pretty much demolished at least several dozens of habitat zones and several factories, but it didn't stop the attack.

\- When we landed, it was pretty much over, - said Willis, who noticed Carl's face, frozen in disbelief, - We killed some of the leftovers, but we missed the main event. Not this time, though...Grizzly, take the N-nine on the next crossroads. Volkov, how's second section?

\- Operational, they gathered in the position. They engaged several xenomorphs some time ago, but pushed them hard, - replied Dmitri, concentrating on the headphones on his ears, - They secured civilians inside the transport vessels and locked the hangar down, providing several pilots lockdown and launch codes.

\- Good, let's proceed with operation, - nodded Willis, - Grizzly, you are on APC duty – park it somewhere nearby and hide until further notice.

\- Roger that...and we near the rendezvous point, ETA – two minutes.

\- Dmitri – your fireteam provides cover to Carl while he's fucking atmos up. Carl, take as much explosives as you can...also, do you know how to operate M41?

\- Pretty much, - replied Carl, slowly getting up from his seat. He clenched his teeth tightly, since his hip still hurt a lot from movement, but he had to endure it for some time.

\- Take one from the rack with ammo and grenades, and also there is bottle of painkillers inside the medical cabinet here...Steiner and my teams are going with second section along with Grace to draw xenomorphs attention. We will create escape corridor with every turret and fireteam we had, moving towards the Queen herself.

\- If you kill her, it would cause a disarray in the Hive, - reminded Emmerich, - And it would buy us time to deal with PMC before next Queen evolves.

\- Good for me. Grace, take the headset here, so you can communicate with other marines, and wait here, - Willis opened the hatch when APC stopped, - I'll prepare second section for your arrival.

While sergeant was talking with second section's sarge, Carl with Volkov's help was preparing himself for the worst. They removed rest of Carl's hazard suit and strapped some shoulder, elbow and knee pads to his engineer uniform, along with backpack and several small bandoliers. The M41 he got was loaded with grenades, he got several more spare in special utility belt that was trapped to his waist. The backpack was loaded with explosives, and his bandoliers had some ammo for his M41. Flashlight, flares, glowing markers, several more protein bars along with water flask, and of course helmet with shoulder lamp, camera set and headphones. Soon they left the APC, which quickly disappeared in the nearby tunnel, and Carl along with Grace and other marines were in front of the atmospheric processor.

It was a huge building, and a tall one – part of it was extending over the meters of ice layers, providing nearby area with oxygen and using cold air for cooling purposes. But right now they were on the ground levels, facing the giant dome with opened gates. It was a whole platoon of the marines here, right in front of the processor – they were holding their ground for quite a time, judging by numerous xenomorph corpses lying around. Of course, it wasn't without the losses – Carl saw several black body bags that were closed with marine's tokens on them. He shrugged, since death by acid was the bad way to go, and most painful one.

\- Don't worry – you won't be the one inside, - Dmitri pat Carl on his shoulder, seeing him tensed, - I promise.

\- Thanks, Dmitri, - Carl nodded to him, coming closer to platoon's position.

Willis and second section sergeant with "Wolbur" tag on his armor were discussing the operation, sometimes eyeing Grace. She was in the center of everyone's attention, and for a good reason – her detection abilities were the key to this operation, and they were working much further than motion sensors, getting marines the advantage...with some downsides.

\- So, basically, when she will try to find her, the Queen will be alerted, - frowned Wolbur, looking at Willis heavily, - And all those xenomorphs will aim at her.

\- They will detect us eventually, but we have advantage – using her as a decoy could provide us time to establish escape corridor and dealing damage to the processor. Carl here, - Willis pointed at engineer, - Worked on this facility for some time and knows engineering stuff, so we golden here. When Carl finishes with sabotage, we are pulling him and Grace out.

\- Fucking insane, but should work – xeno's stopped their attacks and hid inside the complex, - Wolbur spat on the ground, looking at the giant dome behind him, - And as you said, infrared and thermal don't detect them at all...OK, let's do this – your fireteam and mine are going with her to pay Queen a visit, while other marines are protecting the escape route. It's going to be a hellhole, but we must draw her attention for good.

\- You sure, Wolbur?

\- You fucking serious, Willis? We are bringing war to them and going to strike the main bitch, I am not gonna sit idle by, no, I am gonna put my rifle up her ass!...and don't fucking speak like that all of sudden, - Wolbur suddenly shrugged, looking at Grace, - It's creepy...OK, second section, let's roll!

\- First section, on me! - shouted Willis.

The marines quickly gathered by fireteams and started to move inside the processor. After some consideration, Wolbur and Willis put Steiner at the gates, giving his fireteam smartguns, grenade launchers, mines and other heavy stuff, since it was critical point – if xenomorphs will cut the entrance, marines are done for. Steiner nodded to Willis and wished everyone – especially to Carl and Dmitri – a good hunting, wasting no time to set the defenses. Carl activated his shoulder lamp along with other marines, illuminating their way. Carl knew where reactor was – every engineer of his level knew – and when it was the turn they had to take, Carl quickly took out his marker and draw a simple arrow towards the exit:

\- This is the way to reactor. We need to take the stairs four levels down, - Carl pointed towards the stairs, which had number "1" on them.

\- Murray, take defensive positions here, - Wolbur command another female marine, who quickly went on the order

\- You better weld the vents and close the maintenance corridor, they also love to come from above and below, - suggested Carl.

\- Do as he says, - Wolbur nodded, approving Carl's advice, - Others – on me, the bitch is further away.

 _\- Don't you dare to di_ _e, Carl. I won't have it,_ \- Grace quickly glanced over her shoulder, looking at towards Carl, _\- And I won't dare to die too, because you won't have it either._

He could only nod to her, before he and Dmitri's fireteam started their descend. When he disappeared, Grace could still sense him, but there was no time for talking, only for actions. She ran along the marines, trying her best to lead them towards the Queen. She suddenly stopped and took several steps back, getting tensed all of sudden. Wolbur and Willis quickly stopped and silently gestured marines to pull back, preparing their rifles. Someone tried to pull the motion sensor out, but Grace quickly grabbed marine by his arm and negatively nodded. Slowly releasing confused marine, she raised her head a little, communicating with Wolbur and Willis:

 _\- They are on top of us, crawling slowly...several more coming from behind, very slow._

\- Shitty situation. If we open fire, acid will cut us out, - whispered Willis, looking at the ceiling of the corridor. He looked at marine from second section and suddenly asked, - Grace, how about fire?

 _\- It will scare them for sure, maybe make them explode if those are drones or warriors._

\- That's all we need, - Willis relocated to Wolbur, pointing at marine's flamethrower, - We run forward, and using this to not let those fuckers drop on us.

\- Morlow, Uni, Takeshi, - Wolbur whispered, summoning marines with flamethrowers to him, - Aim at ceiling as we move, - he gestured to marines, preparing them to move out, - And watch the cellar everyone...all marines, move on three...three!

When first flames hit the ceiling, Wolbur was pretty happy when he heard xenomorphs screaming from fear and confusion. They were taken by surprise, and marines quickly dashed towards the next intersection of large corridor. Some xenomorphs suddenly popped out from the cellar level, easily breaking the metal apart and trying to reach the humans, only to be met with pulse rifles firing.

\- Murray, how's it on your side?! - yelled Wolbur, firing at approaching xenomorphs.

\- Not good! - Grace heard gunshots on her radio along with screeching of xeno's, - They trying to push us, but we holding for now!...oh fuck!

\- What is it?!

\- Lots of them went after engineer guy!

\- Carl, you hear me? Carl?!...shit, he probably deep down at the reactor, fucking interference! - Wolbur spat on the ground, - How long, Grace?

 _\- She's under us and a bit further._

\- Uni, your fireteam stays here with Rynder's! - commanded Wolbur, - Set the sentry turrets to cover the flanks and place mines over the walls, they fucking love crawling on the walls! Others – move!

Now it was down to Grace, Wolbur and Willis with their fireteams, total of one hybrid and eight marines descending under the sounds of battle behind them. Grace was running on the front, seeking a good route for marine, while they grunting heavily behind her. They started to notice that something was growing on the walls, floor and ceiling, something...black and alien in nature, and the smell here was really strange. But it was empty, no xenomorphs or anything was in those narrow corridors – and ideal place for ambush.

 _\- ...I lost her._

\- You what?…

 _\- I can't sense her,_ \- Grace turned back to sergeants, _-_ _I know where she was, but...there is nothing now._

\- This can't be right...let's move where she was, maybe she is trying to escape, - Wolbur nodded Grace, still following her.

She eventually led marines in the large room, over twenty meters tall and big enough to hold a platoon of tanks. The strange resin was all over the place and giant tankers, and even with flares and flashlights it was hard to tell where xenomorphs could be. Wolbur took out his motion sensor, only to see one signature – Grace's:

\- Doesn't make any sense...you sure she was here?

 _\- I am,_ \- Grace was puzzled, she was trying to figure out what happened, _\- She had a constant presence before, and she disappeared very quickly as she sensed my approaching._

\- ...she's here, - suddenly said Willis, nervously looking around, - She wasn't running, she was leading us inside.

As Willis was talking, a big shadow slowly detached herself from the resin on the ceiling. She was holding there for quite a time, and she made a very good decision to deal with those invaders away from the eggs. She slowly hissed, getting attention of the hybrid, and dropped from the above. The hybrid, of course, got away, but she landed on top of two marines, smashing them to the ground. Quickly striking with her tail at the one next to her, she send marine flying across the room with his throat cut open. Other marines quickly opened fire, but those bullets were bouncing off her chitin, even armor-piercing ammo and smartguns with flamethrowers weren't effective against her,

Her roar of pure fury was heard by all her children. She will not only end this abomination, she will end this futile assault personally.


	9. Chapter 8

**Work. Birthday. Work. Computer upgrades. More work. Alien: Isolation, yay! Work-work-work.**

 **So, I am really busy with work which went freaking insane because of holidays - 23d of January and coming 8th of March. I decided to actually finish this chapter as it is, so the next one would focus on...well, you will see.**

 **Someone asked me about "lemons". I have a weird association with Will Sasso's lemons vines. They are weird, but to me are funny in a way. But yeah, I know what is it, and I don't understand why you would call sex scene a "lemon". Even "screwing" is more accurate than "lemon", really. But that's all I will say about it right now, because I am not the person who gives away everything - I want build up instead.**

 **I have no idea how long it would take for another chapter to come out. Really. And, again, typos, my worst enemy, emerged from the abyss, but I already stated - no beta untill I finish this one.**

 **I have ideas for other fic's, and the "Ascension" story already have grew larger inside my mind. If people show interest, there will be a second volume, which I am planning to make darker and a bit more complicated story- and character-wise. But let's see who is gonna survive this mess first.**

 **As usual, enjoy.**

* * *

\- How's your leg? - Dmitri looked at his motion sensor, checking the area around them.

\- Manageable, - grunted Carl, following fireteam. He already took painkillers, but still he couldn't move as fast as he wanted, and he tried his best to not slow marines down, - If we reach the reactor area, I can probable do something about the communication inside the facility.

\- That's good, but don't give promises you can't fulfill, - Dmitri suddenly frowned, looking at the beeping motion sensor. He pulled his fist up in the air, commanding marines to stop, - How far is reactor?

\- Turn to the right, and we should see the gates.

\- Run.

All marines rushed to the right turn of big corridor, and Carl noticed how fast motion sensor was beeping now. He looked at it just for a second, but the signatures were everywhere around them, covering tracker's screen near completely. Carl tried not to think about his chances of survival, he tried just to run with marines to the end of the corridor, when suddenly a floor grate right in front of him suddenly opened, revealing big black hand with sharp claws, that tried to reach him. He fell right on his ass and tried to put as much distance between him and this black hand, when Dmitri with his fireteam turned around and opened fire at the hand, aiming mostly at it's owner under the grate – if they opened fire at hand itself, Carl could probably be coated by acid. When hand suddenly dropped dead, Carl gathered himself and continued running with marines towards the big giant gates in front of them. They, of course, were closed, but it didn't matter since marine had some very neat hacking device.

\- Saito – gates, Shawn – flare to the end of the corridor and watch it, Kozlov – flare inside this vent and guard it, - Dmitri commanded, reaching his pouch with one hand and activating the flare, dropping it just nearby their position, - Carl, throw the flare down the grate and watch it.

As Carl activated flare and pushed it through the floor grate, he saw xenomorphs right under them, waiting for something. As soon as they were exposed to the light, they quickly retreated and disappeared in the dark, crawling through vents and along the pipes.

\- Smart assholes, - Dmitri wiped sweat from his forehead, holding his rifle steady and looking at still beeping motion tracker, - They not approaching us for now.

\- They know when they are exposed to attack, - Carl shivered, realizing how actually smart xenomorphs were. He also realized that his rifle wasn't ready, and he clicked safety switch, getting on his knee and watching through the grates.

\- How the fuck we supposed to rendezvous with other marines? - whispered Kozlov, who was watching the vent near him, - We fucking cut off, the only thing that keeps fuckers away – it's opened space.

\- So use this fucking knowledge, Kozlov, - replied Saito, who was nervously tapping on small keyboard, trying to hack the door.

\- I mean...OH FUCK! - Carl hear rifle firing, and he glanced over to see Kozlov firing inside the vent, - I-it took the fucking flare!

\- Throw another one, now keep it fucking closer this time, - Dmitri took several shots inside the corridor, - Carl, watch the grates. Saito, how long?

\- Not long...OK, I think I got it.

\- Kozlov, on my mark throw the grenade inside vent, timer for fifteen seconds. Shawn, lay the suppressing fire with me, Saito, take the point with Carl and be ready to close the gates. On three...three!

As door opened, Carl and Saito got inside the gates and quickly observed the room for hostiles, but Carl knew it would be a safe place since this room was a conduit between reactor area and main corridors, and it was isolated by several layers of metal and anti-radiation compounds. Of course the main core was also shielded, and they won't have to worry about radiation, at least for now...meanwhile, Shawn and Dmitri were laying suppressing fire, and they were warned by Kozlov who threw the grenade inside the vent. As Carl looked back at the corridor, he saw many black shadows crawling on the walls and ceiling towards them.

\- Saito, the gates!

As Dmitri said, Saito quickly typed something on his keyboard, closing the gates and moving to another gate panel. Dmitri quickly gathered marines in another formation, as they were now holding the other side of the room. Thee good news is that no vents were in this room, meaning that xenomorphs can't get inside. No grate floor, no double ceiling – xenos were trying to find way around, as they slashed at the door, but it was useless.

\- Good thing they don't know how to hack doors, - Carl nervously looked at the gates, hearing how it was holding against constant xeno assault.

\- They probably will find a way, but at least we have time, - nodded Dmitri, - Saito, how long?

\- Almost ready, just give me a moment.

\- When we inside, where we should head to, Carl?

\- Across the corridor and to the left. There are control rooms, four of them, but I visited only the one on the left, - Carl closed his eyes, trying to remember if he was correct about that information, - Yeah, left one.

\- OK, I got it.

\- Let me check, - Dmitri took the motion sensor and watched it's display for several seconds before nodding, - Open it on three. Everyone, to the center...one, - Carl and Dmitri, along with other marines, quickly turned their rifles towards the door Saito just hacked, - In case of enemy contact, short controlled bursts. Two... Three!

As doors opened, a xenomorph claws showed up from the sides of gates along with their heads, trying to get inside the room. Carl didn't even had any time to react – he opened fire as long as he saw xenomorphs, trying to hold the rifle in his hands and compensate the recoil. Dmitri did a good call, because they were pretty far away from acid that was flowing everywhere and were less worried about ricochets. Carl didn't count how many xenomorphs they killed, but when they were done with shooting, they realized how bad the whole situation was – every xenomorph they killed near gates exploded with acid that was covering now whole hallway where they were supposed to run towards reactor area. But before anyone had time to notice their dire situation, Carl switched rifle to fire in semi-automatic mode and started to fire upon the ceiling. Dmitri was about to ask Carl why he was wasting ammo, but when the first ceiling part fell down, he quickly understood what engineer was doing – he was shooting at part of the ceiling to reveal large pipes, that were going all way down to the reactor area. Carl carefully moved towards the still boiling acid on the floor and shot several more segments down.

\- It's power lines – they are sealed by several protective layers, and I tried not to breach them. They could carry our weight, but we better lose some before we start climbing, - he quickly returned back to Dmitri and pointed to the ceiling, - There's enough space to hold onto them, but someone must help us reach it.

\- Shawn, you will do the lifting, - Dmitri quickly took off his backpack and threw it on the other side, arming himself with rifle and placing motion tracker on the floor, - Throw backpack and pouches over to the other side. Kozlov, you first, place the rope on this side and right over the door frame. Carl, you next, then Saito.

Carl only now noticed how suddenly xenomorphs stopped attacking the gates behind them. They probably were trying to get around, and probably those xenos were just a scouting party, which wasn't good – they had little to no time to sabotage the reactor core. Meanwhile, Shawn helped Kozlov to reach the power lines, who quickly hitched the rope on the pipe and started to move his hands slowly over the lines. The tricky part was about the door – Kozlov had to release one hand in order to grip the power line over the other side, since the door frame was in the way, and he had to release his hand again and quickly grab the power line, placing another rope on the other side. Carl wasn't so sure if he could do it, but Kozlov just showed everyone that this is possible. When Kozlov reached the other side, he took motion sensor from the backpack and placed it on the floor near him, watching the long corridor with gates opened on the other side, leading to reactor chamber.

\- Clear.

\- C'mon, Big C, - said Dmitri, who watched over the big gap. Some xenomorph bodies already went through the gap and disappeared down there, melting more stuff on their way down.

Carl placed the rifle over his shoulder – thanks to the special strap – and he started to climb over the rope. Those pipes were strong and sturdy, but Carl just couldn't stop thinking about him falling down to the gap. He started to move his hands over the pipes towards the door frame, when he heard a beeping from motion sensors, which nearly made his heart stop.

\- Go, Carl, go, they still far away, - said Dmitri, looking over the monitor, - Twenty meters.

\- Fuck them, - grunted Carl, getting to the rope and grabbing it, - They probably will reach us from this gap.

\- Flare down there, - Dmitri commanded to Shawn, who quickly threw the flare inside the gap, - Carl, take a look, while flare still not eaten by acid.

\- ...I guess it melted down to ventilation and maintenance shafts, - Carl swallowed, looking down from his position. His hands gripped the rope tighter, - Yeah, seems like it. They could rush from there.

\- Is there any other way from reactor area? And keep moving.

\- Plenty of escape routes, - Carl switched to moving, and he started to carefully move his hands over the pipes, - You want to blow this way, Dmitri?

\- Pretty much, - he nodded to Saito when Carl dropped from the power lines, - Carl, get back-to-back with Kozlov and watch the gap, and don't forget the backpack...fifteen meters. Move, people! Saito, go! You will watch the gap too.

When Carl dropped near Kozlov, he quickly got to marine's back and quickly glanced over the ammo count, wiping his sweat from the forehead. He could swear, that his heart was about to explode from the constant pressure, and his arms were trembling a bit. Carl put his backpack and some pouches back on, looking at large gap in front of him. Saito was moving pretty fast, and soon enough he reached the other side, arming himself and pointing his rifle towards the gap. Next one was Shawn, since Dmitri decided be the last to cross the gap, covering crossing marines.

\- ...ten meters, Shawn, move faster!

\- I see them! - he yelled, looking down and raising his legs from the gap, trying to move as fast as he could, when suddenly a big black shadow jumped from the gap, surprising both Carl and Saito. They both opened fire, but they missed the target – the xenomorph was holding onto Saito, hissing with anger.

\- Get this fucking thing off me, I am slipping!

\- Don't open fire, acid will cover him too! - yelled Dmitri, who got lucky to not being shot by Carl and Saito.

\- Shit! - xenomorph released one of Shawn's hands from the pipe, and now marine was holding by one hand only. Xeno hissed, gripping marine's other hand, clearly overpowering him. Shawn growled suddenly, - Well, fuck you too then! - he reached his waist with grenades, arming one and releasing his hand.

\- Take cover!

The explosion shuddered walls and was loud enough to make Carl's ears ringing. He opened his eyes, swallowing nervously.

\- ...fucking bastard, - nervously said Kozlov, looking at the mess of metal where Shawn fell.

\- He closed the gap, - Dmitri said with empty voice, looking down the gap and throwing flare down, - Bought us time...we should keep moving. But first..., - Dmitri reached his bag and placed explosive on the wall near him.

* * *

\- Back! Back! - shouted Wolbur, - Don't get too close to her! Shit! - one of the marines lost his leg due to Queen's bladed tail, and she moved in to rip the human in half right in front of everyone.

\- Grace, find a way to retreat! Marines, lay suppressing fire! - Willis was focusing mostly on the xenomorphs that swarmed the whole place all of sudden. Since their bullets couldn't penetrate the Queen, that was advancing to them pretty fast, they must think of another way to hurt her. They lost the smartgunners, since Queen prioritized them when she landed and started the carnage.

 _\- There is a way, through the ventilation!_

\- Broke it down! Marines, full retreat! - commanded Willis, moving with Grace inside the smaller corridor.

 _\- ...give me some time,_ \- Grace sensed the coming of xenomorphs, hissing loudly. With a quick motion of her tail, she grabbed a rifle from one of the dead marines and quickly disappeared, _\- Vent is nearby. I will join you shortly._

She made several jumps over the corridor, jumping from the walls and ceiling towards the coming xenomorphs. The acid would close the marine's way to the escape, so Grace had to act quickly. She jumped to the nearby corridor and hit the xenomorph with her shield-crest, making it fall from the wall. She pulled fallen xenomorph by it's tail towards her and smashed her fist into it's mouth, splattering acid and chitin all over the place. Looking over the corridor, that was just swarming with xenomorphs running over the walls and ceiling towards Grace, she reached Willis:

 _\- I can't hold them for long,_ \- Grace bent her knee in position to fire. Checking the ammo count, she pressed the rifle against her shoulder, making short bursts towards incoming xenomorphs. With her strength, recoil wasn't much of a problem, and she made every single burst count.

\- You don't have to! - radio cracked on her neck with voice of Willis, - Keep firing and move backwards!

When rifle started to beep with a traitorous sound about spent ammo, Grace threw the weapon away and rolled back, turning around on all fours and running away from the xenomorphs. She can't fight them all, especially fight them alone, and praetorians were still dangerous foes for her. But it's not about praetorians she worried about.

The Queen was their problem. It wouldn't take her long to realize that they just distracting her from the real threat, which was Carl right now, since he was responsible for sabotage. And they must keep Queen busy...but how, if they are losing? With that thoughts Grace rushed from the corridor just to see a xenomorph grabbing marine by leg and pulling him out of the ventilation shaft. With a loud roar she charged into xenomorph, bumping into it and pressing xenomorph's head to the floor with her knee. She quickly grabbed the clawed xenomorph hand and released marine's leg from the tight grip. When marine went away from the struggling Grace and xenomorph, she tore her opponent's limbs before smashing the head with her knee.

\- Grace! - as it turned out, it was Willis she just saved. He threw towards Grace his rifle, - Short controlled bursts, cover our retreat!

 _\- We need to find a way to kill her. I can't challenge her alone,_ \- grabbing M41A, she started to move backwards, firing from time to time towards the pursuing xenomorphs.

\- Hey, Wolbur, got any ideas?

\- Fuck if I know! - he yelled back at Willis. Grace heard rifle firing with a xenomorph screeching before Wolbur continued, - We need to recount everything we had left first!

\- ...we need to drop here, - Grace suddenly stopped, pointing her thoughts towards Wolbur, - They waiting for us on the other side.

\- Hold! - Wolbur shouted, raising his fist in the air and taking out his motion tracker, - Grace, you sure? I am not picking up anything.

 _\- They out of range, and they will stay still undetected,_ \- she sighed and kicked the vent access near her with one powerful strike of her leg, _\- We need to drop here._

\- Everyone – dropping here! Move it!

Grace covered marines as they were dropping from the vent inside the large warehouse with lots of tall thick barrels, and when all of them dropped down, Willis asked Grace to stay inside the vent for a while. After some searching inside backpack and pouches, Willis handed Grace two strange discs with a numerical keyboard on them:

\- It's plastic explosives, don't touch the keyboard yet, - Grace curiously tilt her head to the side, observing the discs in her hand, - Remove the safety cap on the other side and place them inside the vent from both sides on the ceiling, so we can cut xenomorphs from our position. When you place those, click this switch to arm, type "fifteen", click switch again and get the hell out of the vent. Got that?

 _\- I am not human, but not stupid,_ \- she returned Willis his rifle and dashed inside the vent, doing exactly what Willis asked her. She decided to place the first explosive as far away from the opened vent. Take safety cap off, place it on the wall, arm with the switch, type "fifteen" – meaning that she will have fifteen seconds to place another one. She did it in eight seconds, though. Dashing inside the opened vent, Grace waited for the explosion to pass before asking Willis, _\- What now?_

\- Wolbur, where are we?

\- Waste storage, - Wolbur shrugged, holding strange device in his hand – a box with a fat retractable tube, - Found the Geiger counter nearby in emergency closet, but we lucky – nothing.

\- So we are nearby reactor area?

\- Yeah, - Wolbur pointed towards local area map with evacuation plan right next to it, - Shit isn't getting better.

\- It isn't, - growled Willis with frustration in his voice, - She will come down here for us, and we don't have anything to stop her. What about comms?

\- Too much interference, we can't contact anyone right now, - Wolbur spat on the floor with frustration, - I hope Carl will figure this shit out...because I have a plan.

\- SADAR her ass? - smirked Willis.

\- SADAR her ass, - nodded Wolbur, - We just need to preoccupy her a little. When Carl will re-establish communications, we gonna ask Grizzly to take a trip to our dropship and get heavy armaments. But we need to make that bitch follow us into some area where we can fight her.

\- _...egg chambers,_ \- suddenly said Grace towards Wolbur, _\- Where her children lie dormant. She placed those chambers right under the reactor, I can smell them now. If we destroy the egg chambers, the rage could probably cloud her judgment._

\- So, Princess have a plan about venturing down and destroying so called egg chambers. This can piss the Queen royally.

\- ...god damn your pun, Wolbur, - Willis giggled a bit, along with some marines, - OK, we going down, crashing the shit on our way, getting her pissed and hoping that we will be able to call Grizzly and survive, while she travels back and forth. Sounds like a good plan.

\- The only plan, Willis. OK, marines, let's move!

* * *

The reactor area, that was the size of a football field, held four control towers with lots of big pipes coming from nearly everywhere towards the giant dome, that housed the complex machinery and where main reaction was taking place. Marines and Carl found the area map and started to plan their next move:

\- OK, here's the plan – while I am turning emergency shutdown off, you need to place the explosives on those main coolant pipes – they are dark-blue and marked with big "MCP" letters, - Carl pointed his finger towards map area, - We still need auxiliary coolant pipes to buy us some time, and that's what they do – in case of possible reactor meltdown, they can only slow down the process. The system also will try to shut down the reactor, but as I said, I will turn it off, but we need to do it from all four control towers, - Carl pointed his finger to the window, where marines could see other control towers in the corners of this giant room, - I'll also will try to do something with communications.

\- How much time we will have when we blow up the coolant? - asked Dmitri, looking over the area map.

\- If I close the air ducts, it will be six-eight hours, ten tops, - Carl wiped sweat from his forehead, - The excessive air pressure along with rising temperature will cause a meltdown for sure.

\- So, we placing explosives on main coolant pipes, reach the control towers, shutting emergency shutdown and blowing the pipes, - summarized Dmitri, rubbing his chin, - Carl, you stay here and solve the communications, you will coordinate us. We split in two groups, so we can cover more ground - Kozlov with me, Saito - you are to this tower nearby. We need to move fast – xenos already on us, and it's matter of time when they will find a way here...Carl, take this motion sensor and place it behind you, so xenos won't flank you.

When all marines left, Carl suddenly felt, how uneasy it was without them around. The sudden quite felt heavy and tense, and Carl tried to compensate it with working on communication problem. The main reason why they didn't have any communication with surface levels was simple – layers and layers of protective anti-radiation shielding which blocked radio-signals. Carl wasn't sure, why someone would turn this off, but after some time he understood that it was actually damaged or even cut off. Of course, there were auxiliary systems, Carl just needed to reroute the power to them and activate the transmitters on needed frequency. When he got system working, he heard, how bad things were for marines:

\- Jesus fuck, watch the acid! Watch the acid!

\- They on top of us, shake them!

\- Fuck, they just keep coming!

\- Grace, get down!

\- "Delta", can you hear me? Communications are restored, - Carl quickly grabbed the headphone set, turning microphone on and returning to dig into control panel.

\- Good fucking news, Carl! - it was Wolbur, who was firing constantly, - Dmitri, you there?

\- Yes, sir, - Dmitri was also firing at something, judging by xenomorphs screeching in distance. Carl could saw the flashes of pulse rifles in the distance with marines shoulder lamps, - We encountered hostiles, but we repelling them.

\- How much time you need to sabotage the reactor?...Willis, six!...nice shot.

\- Half-hour, probably.

\- I suggest you do it as quickly as possible. Grizzly? Can you hear me?

\- They fucking want my APC! - Carl heard Grizzly growling along with APC's engine working. She was probably on the run, - I can't even close the distance, they keep me away from the atmos!

\- Scratch that. Get to the dropship, I will instruct you later.

\- Roger that, getting to dropship.

\- Steiner?

\- Here. Grizzly was cut off, but we placed turrets in right directions, - by the sounds of it, Steiner was fighting too along with other marines, - Running low on ammo, though, we won't be able to hold them forever.

\- Hold as much as you can, that's an order. Murray?

\- Holding! - she was yelling, since the xenomorphs screeching was too loud, - Not sure for how long!

\- Uni, Rynder?

\- We lost some marines, those fuckers...get the fuck out! - Carl heard an explosion from grenade along with xenomorphs yells of pain, - They pressing us good!

\- Continue to hold, Grizzly?

\- Here, approaching dropship.

\- Get all heavy toys you can load into APC, and some ammo too. We are will proceed with...

Suddenly Carl heard very loud screech. It was the same he heard in the complex when he was repairing reactor - full of pure anger and power, that made him shiver again. What was worse, he heard it not only in the comms - that screech was vibrating from the pipes nearby.

\- ...Oh, it worked. We pissed her majesty...Grizzly, get those supplies ASAP! - Willis yelled over the radio, firing constantly at something, - Wolbur, what next?

\- Grizlly, you have to break through the xenomorphs from the main entrance!...Willis, get down! - a short pulse rifle firing was heard, and after a pause Wolbur continued, - Grizzly, blast your way through to reactor loading area - you will see the freaking arrows pointing you - and pick every marine on your way there!

\- On it.

It was a living hell, judging by marines chatter on the comms. Carl was helping Dmitri with navigating and planting explosives in right places. The motion sensor behind Carl was beeping from time to time, but xenomorphs were targeting primarily marines, popping out of the air ducts and dropping from the ceiling to them. Some shots were damaging equipment and other pipes, but they could care less about it since entire operation was about sabotage. Carl wasn't sure if they could actually escape or pull this one off at all, but they had no other choice left.

Dmitri was leaving one marine per tower so they could turn off the emergency shutdown, and it was dangerous - Saito already was in tower, along with Kozlov, and now Dmitri was alone, running against xenomorphs to secure place. Eventually he made it inside, as Carl sighed with relief when he heard his voice:

\- I am in. Carl, instruction.

\- OK, face the control panel. On your left there will be a glass switch, smash the glass and place hand on the switch.

\- Done, - all marines in towers reported almost in unison.

\- On three turn the switch to the right. Three! - Carl turned the switch, and he saw the first red light appearing under control panel, - Good, that's first step. Now, there is a second switch, right under the control panel, turn to the right on three...three! - Carl reached under the control panel and turned the switch to another direction, watching second red light appearing, - Last one. Place your hand on the first switch and turn it now to the right and hold for fifteen seconds. On three...three!

\- I hear them crawling nearby, - nervously whispered Saito. Carl looked over to see the tower where Saito was, and he nearly had a heart attack - the xenomorphs were crawling all over the control towers, including Carl's one.

\- There's a button on the right side of the control panel, it has "ES" letter over it, press it! - he already did that, making several protective layers close the windows, - Emergency shutters will buy us time.

\- I still can hear them...damn it, how long?

\- I don't know, the system doesn't want to respond, - Carl growled, looking at one light indicator that was still dead, - Hold the switch.

\- Fuck! - Carl heard Saito swearing and firing his pistol, - They came to my tower and opened the fucking doors!

\- Hold the switch!

\- Trying to! - Carl heard several more shots, and after five long seconds a third final light indicator turned red.

\- OK, we turned emergency shutdown off, now blow the pipes!

\- Fuckers! Stay still you as..., - Saito suddenly yelled very loud, making Carl shiver again. Saito was yelling for a long time, until Carl heard strange high-pitched sound along with Saito's muffled screams. When Carl realized that he was listening to the silence instead of marines, he was about to call them when he heard pneumatic door opening. His instincts told him to hide, and as he covered behind the control panel, he turned his speakers off to not reveal his position. In the silence he heard very familiar low hissing and taps of claws on the metal floor, revealing the xenomorph presence inside his room. What make the situation worse, is that Carl heard another alien, but second one wasn't moving at all, so Carl had to take a little peek to see one xenomorph standing in the door frame and another one was slowly moving around.

He can't take them head on, he can't take them at all. The only way out was too insane to even think about it...but did he had any choices left? Probably not. Carl tried to breath as quietly as he could when he started to slowly reaching from his cover to control panel, looking for emergency shutters button. The xenomorphs, luckily for him, were busy with opening personal lockers, so Carl risked a lot by moving out of cover even more to see the needed button. When Carl pressed it, he knew that it would take three or even five seconds to lift the shutters again, exposing the windows, and those shutters would made insane noise, alerting the xenomorphs. The only way to hold a bit more was to fire blindly in xenomorphs direction, trying to make them fall back inside corridor and not kill them in process - their acid could do a lot of damage to the machinery and wires in control tower.

When shutters servomotors started to work, both xenomorphs turned their domes heads towards Carl, who was just a meter away from the windows, holding M41A in both his hands. Just like before, short controlled bursts, he started to pin down xenomorphs, making them retreat inside the corridor with a hiss of annoyance. Now it was very dangerous situation - Carl turned his back to xenomorphs, hiding behind the control panel and closed his eyes, firing at window. The glass exploded with millions of pieces, scratching Carl's clothes and exposed skin everywhere, but he had to move fast. Carl quickly got up, holding rifle in both his hands, and dashed towards blown up window, dropping down...

...or he thought so. One xenomorph actually grabbed him by the backpack with his long lithe hand, hissing dangerously and trying to pull him back. Carl let out a scream of surprise when he realized the whole situation as he desperately opened all straps that hold him to the backpack. When last strap was opened, Carl continued to fall down, aiming at large coolant pipe, bending his knees in preparation for landing. When his knees touched the pipe, he suddenly slipped and was forced to fell from the pipe itself, landing on his back on the metal floor. Carl let out another scream when he landed, since he hurt his injured leg and landed too rough - his vision was blurred and obscured, his head was weighting a ton, and all his back was hot from the pain. He saw xenomorophs silhouettes crawling over the control tower, and he couldn't even get up in order to escape them.

Suddenly he saw another shadow over other xenomorphs, standing on the control tower's roof, but this one looked very familiar. The shadow dropped down, pinning down both xenomorphs to the ground and just smashing their skulls into the metal floor. Carl tried to reach his rifle with shaking hands, but it dropped too far away from him.

 _\- What are you doing?_

\- G-Grace? - Carl asked hoarsely, trying to focus his vision on her. She quickly dashed to him, getting Carl on his feet.

 _\- No, Mother Theresa,_ \- she replied irritably, helping Carl to move, but after a while she decided to just carry him on her hands, running and jumping fast, _\- Dmitri told me that you were in danger, and I tried my best to come...how he said it? ASAP?_

\- As soon as possible, ASAP, - Carl wasn't sure that he like being carrying like a baby, which Grace of course sensed:

 _\- You don't have a choice right now. We have to move fast, since we really upset the Queen._

\- How?

 _\- We just destroyed all her future children._

\- ...we fucked.

 _\- Grizzly, that red haired woman, will come soon to pick us up, we just have to wait for her - many marines that were holding our...escape corridor are pushed right now by enraged Hive. I can sense it, and it's actually very scary,_ \- Grace slided under the large pipe while still holding Carl in her grasp, _\- The Queen is enraged especially, and she want to hunt us down. I guess she's trying to locate me, and it's a matter of time when she finds me._

\- Why she wants you?

 _\- It was my idea in a first place,_ \- she suddenly smiled, showing her white-ish teeth in a large grin on her face, _\- And my execution. Just think about it from her position - an abomination leads humans inside her very nesting grounds and helps in destroying her Hive's future. I would be also...pissed off?..._

\- Yeah, pissed off, - nodded Carl, already seeing much better. He saw that Grace was approaching marines in the distance, that were waving to hybrid.

When Grace finally reached marines, she carefully dropped down Carl on his feet and helped him standing, while Carl finally looked at remaining marines. From Dmitri's squad, only Dmitri himself and Kozlov were alive, and they looked like hell. There were also Wolbur and Willis, with just two marines left in their joint squads.

\- OK, we got Carl. Grace, any signs of Saito? - asked Dmitri her, only to see hybrid shaking her head in negative response, - Blyat'! - he suddenly yelled, kicking nearby pipe with his foot.

\- Volkov, we need to move! - reminded Wolbur, who turned Dmitri by his shoulders in order to face, - You placed all explosives, right?...right?!

\- Yes, all explosives are in position, - Dmitri nodded, slowly coming to his senses. Wolbur nodded and released Dmitri, who asked Carl, - Air ducts?

\- They were closed.

\- Now let's get the fuck outta here! - yelled Wolbur, waving in direction of nearby gates, - We have to make a big roundabout in order to meet Grizzly, since xenomorphs are swarming nearby, so move your asses! Dmitri, blow the explosives as soon as we outside possible blast radius!

They tried to move fast through the loading area, where all waste products and repair components were located. It was large enough to fit several APC's, and the roads inside the atmospheric processor were large, leaving xenomorphs less places to hide or attack from unnoticed. The coolant pipes were blown up minutes ago, as marines along with Carl and Grace proceeded to extraction zone. Occasionally some xenomorphs tried to show up, only to be met with pulse rifles.

\- Move it, move it! - yelled Wolbur at marines, - Grizzly, where the fuck is APC?

\- They trying to block our passage! I am trying to find another ways around, it won't take long!

\- Get that APC to extra!...

Suddenly the floor under Wolbur and Willis exploded, making them flew away and hit nearby walls. A large clawed hand reached from the breach, then another one, and soon Carl was looking at monstrosity that emerged from below.

It was much larger, than praetorian they met before - at least six meters tall, with a large and lethally looking tail and a shield-crest similar to Grace's one with five points at the end of it. Not only this xenomorph had two large clawed hands, it had also two smaller ones for some reason. The creature slowly emerged, blocking their path to escape, and let out a low hiss that make Carl's blood froze.

\- ...when I talked about a Queen, I forgot that she was no longer a usual Queen, - suddenly Carl heard voice of Emmerich. He forgot he still had working camera on him, as there were camera's on other marines, - It's an advanced Queen type our teams called Empress.

\- And let me guess - you used Empress's DNA to make Grace? - Carl started to slowly back up from the Empress, that was looking alternately at marines.

\- Correct.

 _\- Carl, go. I am going to distract her for a while,_ \- Grace suddenly jumped on the ceiling and started to crawl towards the Empress.

\- Back! Back! - Willis helped Wolbur to got up and started to retreat from Empress along with other marines, - Our rifles are useless against it!

But it was too late. With one motion of her tail, Empress just smashed Grace from the ceiling and threw her into the wall, and with another one she split Kozlov in half. Carl suddenly felt a strong hand on his shoulder dragging him somewhere - it was Dmitri, who was running towards the one of the many inner warehouses. As he dragged Carl inside, Dmitri looked from his cover to see Empress pursuing Willis and Wolbur, that were also running towards warehouse. The other two marines that were with them were already dead - one was ripped in half, and another one was in Empress's secondary arms. That marine was creaming and trying to wiggle in xenomorphs hands, but she hold him tightly for some reason.

\- She wants us to come out and save him, so she can end us in the open, - Dmitri swallowed, looking at the scene, - Suka...

\- Dmitri, I had an idea.

\- What kind of? - he turned his gaze to Carl only to see what young man was pointing at, - ...can you pilot this?

\- Of course I can. I am going to stall her until Grizzly's arrival. I just need a help with it.

Empress soon got bored from the situation - the prey wasn't coming out at all, and she lowered her head towards the marine, slowly opening her large maw. With a quick motion, a secondary jaw shoot towards the poor marine's head, obliterating it in the process. With a blood on her claws and chitin, the Empress threw corpse along the corridor when she suddenly felt a presence behind her. It was her - the abomination, one of the many, yet the only who survived. She was not injured and looking for a fight against her...which was useless. Hybrid dashed towards her, crawling fast on the floor, but Empress stood motionless, only with her tail coiled behind. When hybrid jumped to the left, trying to flank Empress, the xenomorph's coiled tail suddenly shoot towards the hybrid. It didn't killed the abomination, but tail made a long wound on her leg, stopping hybrid's movement. With a hiss of satisfaction, Empress pressed her clawed foot on the hybrid, pinning her down to the floor and slowly pressing her claws inside her spine, making hybrid scream in agony - before she ends her life, she had to show her who is superior among them.

But she heard strange noises that got Empress's attention. She turned her head towards the noises and saw a big shadow coming from inside the large warehouse. Soon she source of noises was revealed, making Empress hiss in annoyance and incomprehension.

And Carl could understand why. With help of Dmitri he got inside the specially designed powerloader - it was enclosed version with lead plating against radiation and small observing window made out of transparent material that was used on ships and space stations. He also had his own oxygen supply for several hours, but he didn't need oxygen right now - he needed to draw attention from Grace to him. Swallowing nervously, Carl started to makes steps inside the powerloader towards the Empress, and when he was just several meter away from her, he activated the speakers and to his own surprise yelled with a sudden anger:

\- Get away from her, you bitch!

The Empress released Grace and hissed towards Carl, taking slow steps towards him - which was good, since he challenged her and she actually accepted it. But right now he need to make sure that marines would escape along with Grace:

\- Pick Grace up, I will stall her, - said Carl on the radio, closing external dynamics. He started to slowly back away from the Empress, making her follow him away from marines.

\- Carl, don't you dare to fucking die, - Carl saw Willis and Wolbur carrying Grace away from the fight, - We will come back for you, just hold on.

\- I will try, - said young engineer with a clear fear in his voice, watching Empress charging him with her claws extending towards the powerloader.


	10. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:**

 **Finally, I got this one. Have a good time with this chapter, because...you will probably like it.**

* * *

As the Empress stepped on Grace, she felt not only the pain from her long wound on her leg, not only the Empress's rage and blood lust, but she felt her own fear. It only got worse when she felt how slowly the xenomorph above her pushed it's long sharp talon into her spine, slowly tearing her chitin and muscles. She tried to think, tried to focus in order to escape from her, but the pressure was too much for her to lift it, the talon inside her spine could easily dig in further in one motion and pierce her through...what she can do? She overestimated her abilities, and now, when everyone were on the run, she will slowly perish in worst way possible.

But she suddenly heard it with Empress - a slowly approaching machine, that came out from the shadows to reveal big orange powerloader, which housed Carl inside the protective layers of lead and metal. She got her hope back quickly, and not only hope - she actually felt a lot of feelings right now. The Empress sensed them too, and Grace realized it too late to hide it from her - when Carl challenged Empress, the xenomorph pulled it's talon from hybrid's back, hissing lowly and emitting pheromones to make it a clear message to Grace:

 _\- I will end him first. Slowly. Gently. I will take the life you adore. Watch it. I will do the same to you._

She didn't had strength to talk to anyone - her own mind was still in shock, and it took her a while to notice that she was carried by marines away from the battle, where Empress charged Carl.

\- Fuck! - Carl saw the Empress opening her arms and charging him upfront all of sudden. He raised his left arm and extended it with a step towards the Empress, grabbing her by neck and stopping her charge for a while. Raising his right arm, Carl crushed it top down, striking Empress right above her maw. She suddenly felt to the ground, moaning from the pain and anger, but Carl wasn't finished with her yet - he grabbed Empress by her shield-crest, raised her figure from the floor and just threw the giant xenomorph inside the warehouse. Was it upgraded powerloader or Empress's low weight, but he actually made that dangerous move, watching as Empress crushed lots of crates and shelfs. Of course it didn't hurt her - Carl took several steps back while he watched Empress slowly rising on her feet, smashing metal shelves to the side with her arms and tail.

Now he knew that he just got lucky - she didn't expected such force from powerloader, but know she will if she was as smart as Grace. And, to Carl's sudden realization, he remembered that he wasn't able to beat Grace when she understood the rules of games or situations. If Empress got the same learning speed, he is done for, unless he uses some tricky moves to deal with her. He closed his eyes to let the large drop of sweat pass, while he was slowly backing up to the warehouse he spotted before coming to Empress in the open. She followed him, slowly, making metal cracking and growling lowly, probably observing what he was about to do. Carl also wanted to know what the fuck he was about to do, since he was passing large tanks with chemicals inside them.

\- Simmons, do you have any ideas? - he heard a radio cracking with Emmerich's voice.

\- Not a single one, director, - Carl was still backing up, leading Empress inside the warehouse.

\- Let me help you, just turn your camera a bit to the left first...there's a potassium tanker nearby, right on your left...and there are water sprinkles on the ceiling.

\- Potassium and water equals explosion, I remember now, - Carl nodded, - And there's a lot of potassium inside the tanker, by the look of it.

\- Do you still have explosives devices?

\- Yeah, I managed to squeeze backpack inside the powerloader, and stole some from Dmitri just in case, - Carl took several more steps, trying to lure Empress away from the tanker. She still followed him, slowly walking those tight passages between chemical tankers.

\- Good, now listen to me very carefully. Potassium is very volatile when exposed to water, which will result in immediate explosion and burning. The tanker explosion is the last thing you must do, because it doesn't need much to make a reaction.

\- This gets better by a second...OK, any ideas how I can slow her down?

\- None for now, but I am thinking.

\- Carl, - suddenly he heard voice of Grizzly over the comms, - Just hold on, I am driving as fast as I can. If that explosion won't scratch that bitch, we still have SADARs.

\- Grizzly, how long till the rendezvous? - that was Willis, who sounded tired as hell.

\- Just give me several more minutes!

\- I don't think I cal hold her for...Fuck!

The Empress suddenly charged him again, but this time it was much worse - she jumped onto him, grabbing powerloaders arms, nearly pinning him down. Carl tried his best to not fall backwards, but suddenly he saw xenomorph's tail launching towards his left leg, wrapping itself tightly around it. She probably wanted to push the tail towards her, while still pushing with her arms powerloader to the ground, but Carl had other plans - he quickly lift left leg backwards, making Empress fall on her back with a surprised screech, since she wrapped her tail too tightly against powerloader's leg. Carl slowly started to unwrap Empress's leg from his leg with left powerloader arm when she suddenly reached him, grabbing cockpit with her four arms and menacingly opening her maw. Carl shrugged from the sudden strike of her inner jaw against the viewing window, but it actually hold against the xenomorph...for now - Carl saw small cracks after the impact, probably on the outer side. He slowly reached Empress's neck with his hydraulic claw, starting to applying pressure on it while he was still trying to get the tail from his leg - he couldn't just cut it because of the acidic blood, that would end this fight just in seconds. When Carl finally removed the tail from his leg, he returned his attention towards the Empress, only to feel how his blood froze in an instant, and as he saw Empress's arm coming closer towards him, he felt the impending dread.

Empress's inner sides of her clawed hands were cut, revealing her acidic blood, and she already put some acid on his right arm. It didn't take her long to press her hands to cockpit, spreading acid blood all over the powerloader.

\- Simmons, emergency ejection!

Emmerich's voice got Carl back to his senses, as he desperately pressed the needed button. The rear side of the powerloader blew up, making it possible for Carl to escape. He quickly put on oxygen mask and took small air canister with him and jumped out of the powerloader, swearing loudly from pain in his leg. Turning back to see acid eating through the cockpit, the boiling steam coming from the reaction was acidic too - Carl saw how acidic steam melted components inside the powerloader. The Empress noticed that he actually got out of his protective shell, but powerloader was in tight space between chemical tankers, blocking her path for now.

\- Simmons, here is the way to slow her down - turn around and plant explosives on the nitrogen tank. It won't cause a thermal shock, not in her case, but still.

\- She's very pissed, - growled Carl, running through the shelves. He put the oxygen tank under his backpack, strapping it tightly.

already placing plastic explosives on the right tanker. He turned the device to explode on ten seconds, and started to go as fast as he could to take a cover behind a tanker.

Meanwhile Empress finally removed the powerloader - she was tearing it down with her claws and acid, making it completely useless for Carl. And just when she started to move, she noticed the explosive device on the tanker, hissing with her jaw opened in boiled anger. She quickly walked towards the device and tried to strike it, but it exploded right in her face. Carl saw liquid nitrogen pouring on stunned xenomorph before nitrogen steams blocked his view, and eventually tanker fall right on the Empress, but he saw that Empress wasn't damaged by the look of it. Carl quickly started to move towards the potassium tanker, squeezing himself through the tight passages.

\- How strong she really is?! The explosion didn't shit to her, the fucking tanker fell on her and she only got stu..., - Carl suddenly heard Empress's roar, that went loud in the warehouse, - ...was stunned.

\- A normal xenomorph chitin is able to completely deflect small firearms, and only armor-piercing rounds could actually deal damage to them. But their chitin is very adaptable to environment, and eventually as they grew older, it gets only stronger.

\- Fuck me sidewa...oh shit!

The Empress threw a tanker to the side, revealing her giant form to escaping Carl, who looked back to see what the xenomorph was doing. The nitrogen steam was coming off her, but it looked like she didn't care at all about being covered in volatile liquid. Carl saw how she slowly opened her maw, revealing a set of semi-transparent sharp teeth, making a low and prolonged hissing sound.

\- Simmons, get a hold on yourself!

\- T-trying, - muttered Carl, moving now a lot more faster. The Empress was moving too - Carl heard her footsteps on the metal floor, but she wasn't moving as fast as he was, - I hope that nitrogen shower will slow her for good, otherwise I am fucked.

\- You still have to plant the explosives and do something with the emergency fire suppression system, - continued Emmerich, - I would also suggest closing the warehouse gates before detonation.

\- I know, I know! - Carl approached the tanker with potassium and started to plant the explosives on it. The tanker, as Carl remembered, was vacuum sealed and had a lot of dry material inside to make sure that no water would come in contact with it. That's why he needed a lot of explosives placed on the tanker, - Dmitri you there? Remind me how to get it remote-detonated!

\- Do you have a remote signaler device I gave you?

\- Yeah, I got it, - Carl took a big brick-like device from his backpack, extending antennae for twenty centimeters. That signaler was a robust thing - pretty heavy, but hard to break.

\- Good, you have to adjust the frequency on every device you want to use. On the right side there must be a switch to change between "timer" and "radio" input. Switch to "radio" and use the panel to input the needed frequency.

\- OK, I got it, - Carl looked over his shoulder, seeing how Empress was slowly advancing towards him, trying to shake off the nitrogen from her chitin. He doubled his efforts, franticly typing numbers on the explosives, - How much range do I have?

\- Open-space - fifty meters. Closed space...depends on the material and it's density. But that's why the signaler has the timer to send the detonation signal.

\- I see it, - Carl nodded, - How do I input the frequency inside signaler?

\- There's a opening on it's side, pull it. You see the panel you extended?

\- Yeah, it has numbers on it, - Carl pulled the tray on the right side of the signaler, revealing numerical pad.

\- Press the "FRQ" button twice, and...

\- Fuck!

Carl turned around just in time to see the Empress coming around the tanker behind him. Carl quickly put the signaler on his waist and dashed towards the large shelves, trying to put as much distance between both of them, but Empress was very determined to chase him - her claws shredded shelves, her tail was smashing everything around, and she was constantly hissing. Carl squeezed himself between shelves, trying to use them as an obstacle:

\- She is very pissed off right now! I pressed "FRQ", what next?!

\- Just type the frequency and press it twice again...we have visual on APC, try to stay safe for a while.

\- Trying to!

Carl quickly typed the frequency, still moving away from the Empress inside the countless shelves and boxes. To his terror, Carl realized that Empress was moving a bit faster, probably nitrogen started to wear off already. His leg was still in bad condition, but at least his speed wasn't reduced too much to Carl's surprise, but the Empress was still better in many terms. When Carl found a place from where he could see giant xenomorph coming towards him, he started to quickly check the backpack for anything useful. He still have some explosives left, but it wasn't too much - just two bricks of it. No weapons, since he had to discard rifle in order to get inside the powerloader, no grenades...suddenly it clicked inside Carl's head - the powerloader!It was still there, but the Empress could really fuck it up, or the nitrogen could wash it wholly.

Which was the case, as Carl found it soon. The powerloader was lying on it's back in the nitrogen puddle, making it inaccessible for him. Carl looked over his shoulder to see Empress approaching him still, making loud noises from clearing path to Carl through all the shelves of her way.

\- I don't think I can escape from her, - Carl said in trembling voice, - The powerloader is in nitrogen, and seems very damaged.

\- Simmons, get a hold on yourself, - Emmerich responded instantly, - You can think in those kind of situations, think!

\- Trying! - Carl yelled as he continued his attempt to escape from Empress through the tight passages, - Trying! It's ju...

Suddenly it clicked inside Carl's head. There was only one solution, only one plan he still had to counter the Empress, and it was insane one. Seeing a tanker nearby, Carl dashed towards it, quickly getting to the side of the tanker, placing explosives on it's side. He remembered the frequency on another tanker with potassium and said it to Emmerich over the radio, since he had to use another frequency to detonate the explosives. But Carl had another one left, and he quickly placed it on another tanker nearby, calculating where it could land after the explosion, but he set it via timer, which was dangerous. When Carl finished laying a trap for Empress, he took several steps back to finally face her.

She took her time, coming out from the passage and slowly approaching him. The xenomorph opened her mouth, letting out a growl of annoyance, since she was getting tired of those games with a human. As she stepped between two tankers, Carl took out the remote detonation device, which made Empress stop in her tracks. Grinning madly, Carl opened switch and pressed the button...only to find out that nothing happened. Carl's grin disappeared in an instant, as he pressed the button constantly to no effect, looking over the Empress with a clear fear in his eyes. The xenomorph understood the situation, and she let out a long victory screech, taking one step towards Carl and opening her clawed arms.

Suddenly the explosion came from the tanker nearby, making it fall on the Empress as she was screeching from such surprise. Carl quickly pressed the right button, making another tanker fall over the Empress, and he started to move quickly towards the exit.

\- Excellent strategy, Simmons, - Emmerich's praise lifted Carl's spirit a little, - Marines already inside APC and are en route to you. Escape at once.

\- I hope those SADAR's will be able to kill her...Emmerich, what was the frequency?

\- One seven one point forty two.

\- Got it. Dmitri? - Carl reached the exit, smashing the glass panel over emergency systems button, - How I can send a timed frequency?

\- Input the frequency, press the "TMR" button on the panel, and input the timer. When you press the "TMR" button again, it will start the countdown, and you can't cancel it.

\- Roger, - Carl looked over the Empress, who was struggling against the tankers, and he set the timer to one minutes, counting it down.

As he smashed the button to enable emergency systems, he also pressed the button nearby to turn on water sprinklers, since foam and gas fire suppression were not the option. As Carl left the remote signaler in the vent nearby, he quickly left the room and started to run away from the closed warehouse, hearing Empress's roar of pure fury as she finally escaped only to find out the real trap. Carl heard how she was trying to bump or scratch the emergency lockdown shutters to no avail.

\- Simmons, get down!

Carl turned towards the warehouse and dropped on his stomach, covering his head. After five seconds the initial explosion shuddered the floor, but it was like a petard when water made a contact with potassium - the second explosion blew up the emergency shutters in several places, making more explosions inside the warehouse. Carl slowly raised his head, looking at purple flames of potassium everywhere, hearing the continuing explosions...and Empress's roar. She slowly walked out from the warehouse, covered in purple flames and dripping acid from her wounds, looking wearily. She was in flames, she was hurt to the point where she just couldn't run or move as fast as she could, but she survived it. Carl slowly rose from the floor, looking at Empress in utter disbelief, as he started to take small steps away from her. She in response started to slowly walk towards Carl, tripping constantly from all the wounds she got in explosion. But as Carl heard a familiar noise, he turned around to see APC coming towards him. The mighty vehicle was in a bad shape - some parts of it were eaten through by acid, armored windows were gone, and even the autocannon was damaged. APC stopped and opened the armored shutters, letting out several marines with large SADAR tubes - Willis, Dmitri, Wolbur, Steiner and Murray were wielding those weapons, while several more marines were covering the other side, laying suppressive fire upon coming xenomorphs.

\- Five meters backfire! - shouted Wolbur, getting away from APC along with other marines and aiming at Empress with SADAR, - Manual aiming! Fire!

Just in time Carl opened his mouth and closed ears tightly - all five SADAR tubes launched a projectiles with a terrible speed, connecting with Empress in several places. It wasn't enough to kill her, but she got gravely wounded, dropping on her legs and spraying acid from large wounds.

\- Under-barrel! - commanded Willis, discarding SADAR to the side. Other marines discarded them also and charged the under-barrel grenade launchers on their rifles, - Aim near wounded parts!

Contact grenades did the job right - the Empress finally fell on the floor, which was boiling from the acid coming from her wounds. She was looking at marines, still clinging to life and hate, as her wounded palms were trying to pull her towards the humans. But suddenly Carl saw a dark figure, that jumped to line of marines. That figure was holding not one, but two SADAR's, making it clear, who was capable of using those two tubes at once. After a little pause and preparing the weapons to fire, Grace pulled the trigger, sending both rockets into Empress's already damaged face. The result was a very nasty one - from the explosion Empress lost half of her head, spraying acid and chitin everywhere, but not too far away to touch marines.

\- She's done for! - yelled Willis, quickly coming to Carl and getting him on his feet, - Now let's get the fuck out of here!

* * *

Not many marines survived the attack. Willis and Wolbur survived along with Grace, Steiner had three marines in his squad, Murray lost everyone when APC arrived, Uni and Rynder with other marines were wiped out right in front of Grizzly - she came too late to save them. Emmerich was still alive, but was looking nervous. Carl was too tired from everything, and he just passed out the moment he stepped inside the APC. Luckily, Grace was able to catch him, placing Carl's head on her lap and holding him tightly.

\- As I thought - the death of Empress lead the whole Hive to civil war, - noticed Emmerich, who was watching via outer cameras of APC on surroundings.

\- How so? - asked Steiner, who was holding his rifle and aiming at one of the opened part of APC.

\- It was my design, - explained Emmerich, - A small Hive will be obedient to Queen, or Empress in our case, and there will be few individuals capable of transforming into the Queen if previous one dies, and their dispute will take only minutes, - director turned his eyes towards Steiner, looking at marine wearily, - As a precaution, I made several steps to ensure that Empress will have more candidates to become new Queen's, to ensure that we in case of emergency would have some time during their inner war.

\- You know that you are a fucking monster, Emmerich? - growled Grizzly, driving APC through the atmospheric processor.

\- This monster is on your side, and always was, since I had no plans and no gain in unleashing xenomorphs upon civilian population, - parried Emmerich, returning to monitor screens, - Some casualties, yes, some deaths out of need, but all my work was about saving and upgrading our species, rather than exterminating for greed and power.

\- You are a major cunt still, - coldly replied Grizzly, cautiously turning APC around the sharp corner, - Despite the fact, that those cunts are even worse...Grace, how's Carl?

\- _Stable, he is just tired_.

\- Stable, - Grizzly replied, so everyone could hear it, - At least some good fucking news, our kiddo surely has the balls to go upfront with a fucking monster.

\- We better focus on the impending coming of PMC forces. Do we have an engagement plan?

\- Not right now, Emmerich, - replied Wolbur, who was getting patched by Murray, - But we'll get one right after we leave this fucking graveyard...how much do we have until new Queen emerges?

\- Hard to say, - director closed his eyes and rubbed his chin with a slightly shaking hand, - It could at least two-three hours up two several days.

\- Two hours it is, - sighed Willis, - Not much time and we are clearly outnumbered, even with help from Grace we have to perform some guerrilla tactics to win this one.

\- Even if we get those PMC's, and we get to the ship Emmerich was talking about, what next? Shadow fighting? - asked Murray with a definitive irritation in her voice, - Corporate espionage?

\- Do we have a fucking choice, Murray? - Wolbur looked right in her eyes with such expression, that Murray shuddered and took one step back, - We have plenty of time to discuss it with Emmerich and Willis, and we all knew that corporate assholes in suits are going put a blame on us for everything possible.

\- I know, it's...

\- Murray, I am ordering you to chill the fuck up. Is that clear?

\- Yes sir, - she nodded, - May I return to providing medical assistance?

\- Permission granted.

The rest of the trip everyone went silent in the APC. Everybody were on the edge, because the fight was far from over, and they still have some civilians to save from this hellhole. But it won't be easy, considering their dire situation. Willis, Wolbur, Steiner, Volkov and Emmerich were creating a plan with survived colonists, while other marines were guarding the hangar bay. When Carl woke up, he saw a very familiar hospitable face:

\- Doctor Warren!

\- Don't yell like that, I am not that young anymore, - he smiled, looking at Carl attentively. Carl noticed, that Grace was standing right beside doctor, cocking her head to the side a little, - Grace told me about your wounds and what you did, while you were injured.

\- Yeah, but I am...oh, - Carl tried to stand from his bed, where Grace put him for medical examination, and he felt the pain from his leg, back, and whole body at all, - ...OK, I am not fine.

\- That's what I was talking about, - Warren sighed, taking step back, still smiling softly, - I must admit - I was expecting much more severe damage from what Grace told me, but it appears you just need some rest for week or two with light treatment.

\- She's my savior, - Carl nodded to hybrid, - I would be dead already, if she wasn't around.

\- That's right...and that leads me to another question, - Warren pointed to the medical coffin, where Pierce was lying, sealed from outer world, - Emmerich stated, that doctor Pierce is stable, Grace said the same thing, and the pod sensors also states her stable vital signs, just like she's in comatose. I was...

\- Doctor Warren, - Emmerich suddenly appeared, looking at Warren with a cold expression, - I suggest that we discuss that matter lately, since life of my protege is secured. We need to discuss more impending situations, such as...

The sudden explosion made whole hangar shutter, and Emmerich looked to the side, frowning instantly. The second explosion was even more louder and had much more impact, shuddering the inside of APC. Carl heard marines yelling around and colonists screaming in sudden chaos of still coming explosions.

 _\- They are blowing up the main gates with something,_ \- suddenly said Grace to Carl, _\- We need to..._

The last explosion was loud, and judging by the sounds, the hangar bay doors were done for. Carl looked over the monitors of APC to see, what was happening, and he got the answer - PMC were supported by a military-grade exoskeleton, which was slowly walking inside the hangar bay along with the PMC's in darkish red battle armor without any signs or ID. Carl had a look at the military exoskeletons before, when he was traveling with father from planet to planet, and those things were scary as hell - a giant armored walking tank, with a large variety of weapons and ammo for it, along with solid protection from radiation, temperature, gas attacks and thick frontal armor, which could take several SADAR shots to the face and still walking, like it was nothing. Those things were expensive, and training operator to effectively pilot exoskeleton is even more expensive.

Emmerich already stepped out from the APC, placing his knees to the ground and taking his hands behind the head. Other marines did the same thing, placing weapons on the ground - civilians were not secured in time, and they decided to not take any chances of a firefight. The PMC's moved in, the exoskeleton was watching the APC while other PMC's were getting everyone at their knees in one straight line.

They still had some time. But what could they do? The autocannon was pretty much useless, and SADAR wouldn't be effective to destroy that thing in one shot. Suddenly Grace turned to the medical pod and started to put some sequence into the keypad, nodding to Warren. Doctor tried to say something, but he quickly closed his mouth and just shouted from the APC:

\- We are coming unarmed! The hybrid comes with me! We don't have weapons, and there is another person inside!

\- Take slow steps from the APC, one at a time, - the exoskeleton roared with dynamics, arming it's weapons towards the exit, - As you step from APC, take ten steps forward and get on your knees, hands behind your head, and hybrid comes next. Is that clear?

\- Yes, we understand. I am coming out right now! - Warren yelled, stepping first from the APC and taking slow steps forward.

 _\- Now listen to me,_ \- Carl watched Grace, as she planted two pistols, one under his pillow, and one right into his arm, _\- Pretend to be paralyzed. Be ready to shoot without a doubt, our lives are now in your hands, but wait for my signal. I have a plan._

\- Now the hybrid, - roared exo-pilot, - You have five seconds.

Carl quickly covered himself with a medical blanket and took a position as if he was really paralyzed - he was lying on his back and he tried not to move his head. He put his pistol right under the his hip, and tried to relax, even for a bit. Whatever Grace's plan was, he just had to trust her and do, what she told him to do - there is no other choice. But his whole body shivered, and he felt like his hair could turn gray at any moment, if not fell off entirely.

\- OK, put them with the others, watch the hybrid closely. Crimson Six and Seven - check the APC.

Carl heard them coming - their boots were coming fast, and he remembered that he's actually paralyzed, so he have to lie as still as he could. Carl swallowed as he heard PMC's moving inside APC and checking in from the frontal side to the rear. As they moved closely to inspect Carl and medical pod, Carl noticed their weapons - new, just from the conveyor, and he couldn't recognize those assault rifles at all.

\- Get up.

\- If I could, I would do it. I am not stupid.

\- Since you did it nice, I am going give you ten seconds, - the PMC pointed their assault rifles at Carl, - Would be it a miracle or you stop acting, I don't care - you will walk from here in a bag or on your feet. One.

 _\- Do not talk further. Everything is under control...trust me._

\- Two.

 _\- Trust me, Carl. You move or show your fear, and we are finished._

\- Three.

\- I still have seven seconds for miracle, right? - Carl nervously smiled, looking at two barrels, pointing to his head.

\- Four. Now you have six seconds.

 _\- Be prepared._

\- Five. You better get up, boy. Six.

 _\- This is it. Wait for signal._

\- Seven.

Suddenly the medical pod burst - it's armored cover flew into two PMC's, pushing them onto Carl's bed. Carl quickly reached his pistol under the pillow with left hand and without any doubts took five shots at the nearest PMC, cracking his protective helmet into pieces. Other PMC already took out his pistol and now he was aiming right at Carl's eye.

Something suddenly grabbed PMC by the wrist and Carl heard cracking bones along with the muffled screams. As Carl watched in awe, he saw elegant black alien hand slashing the throat of the last PMC, while another black hand was holding broken wrist. When Carl traced the hand to it's owner and met his eyes with hers, he could only whisper in amazement:

\- Pierce!

Meanwhile marines and PMC forces were fighting. Grace had a lot of time to warn everyone about her plan, so marines were only waiting for the right opportunity to fight. It was the first shot from the APC that was a signal to attack, now or never, so marines along with Grace jumped on their guards in that little moment of distraction. By Grace's plan, marines must hide behind the PMC's, since they had some armor to stop some incoming fire. But it wasn't all - they just couldn't win like that, and Grace made every marine understands the importance of taking PMC's alive.

Because it was her bargain with the sudden horde of xenomorphs, lead by a Praetorian.

Marines quickly turned the tables and commanded civilians to get inside the spaceships, where they could be protected from the firefight. While doing so, marines and captured PMC's were taking steps back, to get behind the ships and far away from the exoskeleton, which was fighting Praetorian at close range. It wasn't wise decision, since Praetorian was just distracting the exoskeleton from other xenomorphs, that tried to swarm it and open, like a tin can. The fight - if extermination could be called a "fight" - was quickly over, leaving many PMC's injured or captured by xenomorphs. The exo-pilot got the privilege to be torn in half by Praetorian herself, which signaled the end of the battle. Marines slowly came out from the cover, still taking PMC's hostages, as they were watching the xenomorphs horde right in from of them. Grace and Praetorian were silently talking in low hisses and growls, along with their pheromones and minds, while Carl was holding Pierce on himself, slowly taking steps from APC towards the marines. Pierce, despite the fact that she was finally awake, was weak and confused. She wasn't reacting to anything or anyone, and Emmerich quickly decided to not let anyone bother her for a while. As Carl placed Pierce nearby Emmerich, he got a better look on her.

She mutated, a lot. Her hands and her chest along with the stomach were now pretty much similar to what Grace or other xenomorphs had, but she possessed human features, just like Grace. But what troubled Carl, is her eyes - when Emmerich pointed a flashlight into them, they were silver-white in color and not reacting to light. She was generally weak and it was looking like she had a concussion.

\- A shock is expected, - sighed Emmerich, - I will attend her, mister Simmons, so do not worry.

\- Easy for you to say, - growled Carl, turning his head to the xenomorphs horde.

The trade was successful - all PMC that were captured by marines were transfered to the Praetorian, and marines just in case took out the rifles, watching xenomorphs around them. The situation could be worse, sure - one order from Praetorian and the hell will break loose. But it didn't happen, insted the xenomorphs slowly crawled away from the hangar, leaving humans to their fate - they would not care about them, since they got the hosts for a rightful Queen, which meant only one thing - the Hive War will continue, until one Queen will remain victorious.

At least for several hours, before atmospheric processor will eventually explode, killing and burying whole colony right under the layers of thick ice and frozen stone.

\- I want to leave, - suddenly said Grace audibly, so everyone could hear her.

* * *

They left the planet for good. Remaining colonists were transfered to the spaceships, and, lucky for everyone, no human being was on the moons of this forsaken planet. The spaceships for colonists were programmed to travel for several months into neutral space, far away from USCM and Weyland-Yutani.

Their ship, however, was about to start it's own journey. They already found it, started the systems and were now slowly performing a slingshot maneuver - for additional speed, but mostly because everyone wanted to see a big white-blue explosion on the dark-blue surface of the planet...and mostly because they wanted to take some time to gather themselves. Carl stood inside observation room, watching planet slowly getting away from them after the slingshot maneuver.

He heard her coming from behind. She wanted to be heard.

 _\- You are...troubled._

\- It's just...lots of things happened, and they all ended...all of sudden. Just days before I was running with you from the xenos, and now we are here...I guess I can't believe, that this is the end for now.

 _\- For now?_ \- she cocked her head to the side, standing near Carl and watching him closely.

\- We are still on the run, and...I want to know everything. About that spaceship, how someone created xenomorphs, how...I dunno, - Carl sighed, rubbing back of his neck, - I have nowhere to go and nothing to do, so this sounds like a good idea to start learning something new.

\- ...when you were in that exo-suit, - Grace suddenly changed to verbal speech, - I was...feeling something. All this time I protected you, since you are weak - to my standards - and I am strong enough to keep you safe...but you showed me your strength, - she cocked her head to the side again and smiled softly, - It was not the exo-suit you used, though it was a spectacular show...It was your courage, despite that you were constantly afraid of the Empress, may she rest in pieces.

\- That's why you wasted two shots on her? - Carl put a small genial sarcasm to his words.

\- I was not "wasting" them, I was making sure that "target is destroyed", - she suddenly parodied how Volkov usually sounded like, making them both laugh a bit. When they stopped laughing, Grace took Carl's hand in her own, looking right at him, - I want you to know this. I can't see myself without you near me - I know you well, and I am pleased that you are growing into even better person that you already are. All I want is to ask you..., - Grace took a slight breath, pausing for a second before she continued, - ...will you stay with me further? Can we two become something more, that we already are?

\- Aren't we?

\- Well...since you asked, we can be more. And it is actually possible.

\- ...wait, - Carl started to blink rapidly, - You mean...

\- Yes, - Grace hissed "s" happily with a large grin on her face. Carl also noticed how her tail was swaying from side to side in large arc, - I made some...research, and I decided that we are fine.

\- ...well, that escalated quickly, - Carl still was attempting to think straight, but the flashy images in his mind were distracting him too much.

\- You are not ready, - Grace pressed her finger to Carl's forehead, - That's fine. I can wait, until I decide just to take it from you. We still have some time before hypersleep, so you better check on everyone and make sure our ship is fine.

Emmerich's spaceship didn't had a name, so it was the first thing everyone did when marines stepped on board. After several minutes of arguments Murray came with idea to name it "Darkbreaker", which actually was laughable at first. But after some consideration marines understood, that this name was fitting - their new mission was to break the darkness of lies of the Weyland-Yutani. The "Darkbreaker" was a very interesting prototype ship, which was designed to store a small crew and perform illegal research, hence the need for equipment to mask the ship's presence and some weapons to defend itself. It was dark in colors, to mask it's presence even more, and was slimmer and more accurate in design than military-grade ships like "Arbiter" or "Sunrise". Carl spend some time in blueprints along with Emmerich, trying to understand how "Darkbreaker" actually worked, and while doing so Carl uncovered many surprises.

The first surprise was about air recycling and creating. "Darkbreaker" was using the same technology that was inside atmospheric processors, it was just much smaller and more efficient - the ship was able to create oxygen from many sources, which was a good thing. But the second surprise was the reactor, that powered whole ship - Emmerich claimed, that this ship's power source in right conditions could last not for hundred, but for a thousand years, maybe even more. It was too expensive though to be placed on the modern ships, even VIP or military one's - Emmerich stated that new reactor won't be available for a public use at least for next twenty-fifty years, maybe a hundred. The ships engine were another miracle - it was much faster than any military recon vessel, and could easily travel from LV-426 to Earth just in a matter of week or two. They had their own assembly rooms, lots of lab equipment, arsenal, even small hydroponics. But they also had other vessels.

The exploration of space was a dangerous and risky gamble - every planet, even after weeks of analyzing it's atmosphere and sending automatic probes, could hold many surprises. That's why the main exploration vehicles were designed to be large, bulky, but with many strong wheels with a good friction to the ground. "Darkbreaker" had two such vehicles - armored and lightly armed exploration all-terrain vehicles. Taking old human tradition of naming things, Volkov decided to name those vehicles very simple - "Dragon" and "Wolf". The "Dragon" vehicle carried heavy-duty flamethrower turret and was much heavier and more armored, "Wolf", on the other hand, was faster and armed with low-caliber autocannons. Emmerich stated that the weapons are detachable, and they can turn "Dragon" into real firepower. To the question about why they need armed explorer weapons Emmerich said something about previous expedition tragedies of the long past and LV-426 incident.

The other thing was the hangar bay, where their dropships slept, along with the damaged APC and exo-suit. Marines decided to take some time before explosion and use both dropships to get those valuable pieces of equipment in order to repair both of them one day with Carl's help, but when he assessed the damage, he understood one thing clearly - they need more resources to even start thinking about repairs. They also had several small escape shuttles, which were just fine, and everything was looking a bit brighter for them.

Expect that the whole multi-milliard company was after them.

Carl decided to take Grace's advice and clear his head from previous conversation. He decided to visit science sector first, where Pierce, Warren and Emmerich were working together. Carl actually was surprised that Warren volunteered with them, knowing everything about the dangers of their journey, but he looked fine and busy more than ever, checking on Pierce constantly. Pierce, on the other hand, wasn't very happy with her slowly progressive mutation - Emmerich took samples from Pierce and they both studied them to understand, that her current form is not the end. It will be much slower now, but they had no clue where it will stop, or stop at all.

\- Doctor Pierce, doctor Warren, director, - Carl nodded to everyone in the room, - Any complaints about equipment?

\- None so far, Carl, - Pierce nodded to him. She tried to look like nothing was happening to her, but her clawed hands were always in front of her face.

\- Good, because I was wondering, what the actual fu...I mean, Grace told me, that she did some...research.

\- It is correct, - Emmerich looked at Carl with a mixed expression on his face, - She had questions about evolution and reminded me about our attempts at fertilizing her. Now-now, calm down, we didn't done anything to her, - Emmerich sighed, looking at Pierce, - Amanda?

\- We were discussing the possibility of coupling, and she heard it somehow a long time ago, - nodded Pierce, working with some samples, - Emmerich decided to make an attempt, but we nearly made a containment breach while doing so, - she looked at Carl, slightly smiling, - That's why he needed "Project Pavlov" - not only for control, but to make coupling possible.

\- And, - continued Emmerich, - With the help of our medical officer here, we finally understood that your intercourse is not only possible, but a rather safe procedure - Grace allowed us to research her closely for this matter, and we got the needed data.

\- ...I don't even know, what to say or how to even feel about this right now, - grumbled Carl, feeling how his face slowly turns red.

\- Time is short and valuable, and you better make a mistake than rather not do anything at all, - responded Warren with an advice, - Because you can right your wrongs, but you can't return to the moment...of course if it's not something about drugs, rape or other harmful activities.

\- And, Carl, - suddenly said Pierce, turning to him, - She...asked me questions about something, but I am busy right now, so you better ask Murray and Grizzly in hangar bay.

Carl left the R&D division with a head, full of mixed emotions. Maybe, he should visit Grizzly and Murray too - they both were working in the hangar, doing usual repairs. Normally, Carl would be there too, but doctor Warren insisted that young man must be free from working for some time.

\- Murray, Grizzly, - Carl found them and nodded to both women. He only know understood, that they were very opposite of each other - Grizzly had more aggressive appereance, while blonde Murray had more calm and casual look, - I want to ask you something.

\- Hey, it's not my fault that a girl wants to know girl stuff, - grinned Grizzly, leaning from the APC's autocannon, - Is that right, Jay?

\- I was actually surprised that she already knew something, - nodded Murray, looking at Carl closely with a slyly expression, - But the girl wanted to know more, and who we are to stop her?

\- Princess told us everything about your...how she said it..."compatibility".

\- In details.

\- And our humble council of ladies decided to let her know everything.

\- In even more details.

\- ...I hate you, - grumbled Carl, making Grizzly and Murray laugh.

\- Don't worry, Big C, it's not the end of the world when two people decided to take another step further in their relationship, - said Murray reassuringly.

\- The end of the world happens, when you started to ride him and he already done and snores like a fucking whale.

\- I better move myself away from your girl kingdom.

\- Permission granted, and don't forget - we are here, when you need some advice on girls.

Carl left the hangar bay with even more mixed feelings, and he started to move towards the assembly compound. It was the place, which was taken over by Steiner and Volkov almost instantly, but they were slowly figuring out how it worked. Carl pressed the button to see, that Steiner and Volkov were standing over the console, reading something.

\- Busy?

\- Oh, no, Big C, it's just...we really need you here, - sighed Steiner, turning with Volkov to face Carl, - But you know the doc and our W-team, - it was a marines designation of Willis and Wolbur, - Their words is the last one. What brought you here?

\- Well..., - Carl slowly explained his problem to Volkov and Steiner.

\- ...I don't see how this is horrible, - Volkov shrugged his shoulders.

\- Don't see either, hell, I am even envy you, Big C - whole galaxy full of ladies, and you got the jackpot, - nodded Steiner.

\- What.

\- See it like this, - sighed Steiner, taking a small chair to sit on front of Carl, - Our princess has very little to do with our values - she has some, thanks to you, but not everything, while most of the ladies in this galaxy wanted only your money. She is very hardened person, while other ladies possibly could only killed a bug or two in their entire life, and get the PTSD from it.

\- What Steiner is trying to say, - interrupted him Volkov, - Is that your relationship with Grace, in his opinion, is much easier than relationships with typical females...in some terms.

\- Yeah. And, Jesus fucking Christ, Carl, you got the chance one to freaking minus infinite. Lucky bastard, this is what you are! - laughed Steiner.

\- I can say, that there is nothing wrong in this, especially when she knows how men work.

\- ...she was here too? - asked Carl wearily.

\- Yup, - nodded Steiner, - She wanted to know more, so we told her about sex with our perspective.

\- Why?

\- Why not?

He wasn't sure, what he must do, and after long hours of trying to solve the puzzle he decided to just get back to his quarters and sleep for a while. His quarters were small, just like on the colony, but he didn't care - at least he had a bed and some personal space, nothing else really matters. He took several steps right to his bed, when he heard a muffled hissing behind him.

She dropped from the ceiling, pinning young human down to the bed. Grace pushed gently, but with a bit of a force his wrists to the small bed, "watching" him closely with a large smile on her face. She slowly rose up, leading her hands from his wrists up to his shoulders, and than - to his stomach. Her hips were holding him by his sides - gently, but Carl knew that if he tried he wouldn't move even for a millimeter.

\- I should train with you more, - she whispered, cocking her head to the side, - Keep you in better shape.

\- I guess, you decided to just take it, - Carl tried joke a bit, but he was actually nervous, and Grace felt it.

\- You are afraid, because it can be dangerous? - she stopped her clawed hands right next to his belt, when suddenly she understood, - ...no, that's not it. You are afraid, because it's your first time, - she now was showing her white-ish teeth to him in supporting smile, - Because you don't want to disappoint me.

\- Yeah, pretty much, - sighed Carl, - I...never had anyone before, you are the first.

\- Well, you are my first too, I guess it makes us even, - she chuckled in response, - You would not mind if I take the lead then?

\- I don't think I have a choice here. Can't complain, though, but...

\- Shhh, - she put her finger on his lips, leaning closer with a wide smile on her face, - Relax.

\- ...I just don't know why we are...hurry with this, - grumbled Carl.

\- We do not, - she rose up, cocking her head to the side, - Because that is what you wanted all this time, but you were suppressing your desires for a long time. And now, when you can actually do what you wanted, you want to take step back. I find this...irrational. Noble, but irrational. Besides, this is a good way to take all that stress from you, - she leaned to him again, nearly touching his forehead with her own. Carl suddenly swallowed, since she was dangerously close, - You want this, and I want this too. You will not disappoint me, I am taking you for what you really are. Is that enough for you to let go of fear?

\- I du...

She slowly leaned forward, touching his lips with her own. She was smooth and tough at the same time, but Carl wasn't complaining - he answered to her, much to his own surprise, and slowly both of them opened their mouths. Her tongue, thanks science, was not a secondary jaw, but it was still rather long, so long that she actually wrapped it around Carl's one. She pressed her body to Carl, slowly rising his hands and removing his shirt. She broke the kiss first, throwing his shirt somewhere away and rising with a soft reassuring smile on her face.

\- So, what do you think about this motivation? - her clawed hands started to slowly trail from his neck down to his stomach, leaving barely noticeable traces of her claws. She was gentle, but wanted to tease him.

\- ...I say we do this, - nodded Carl suddenly.

She smiled again and started to slowly removing his belt and pants in general. After some time Grace let her jaw drop, because she saw something really amusing.

\- It's self-irony, - chuckled Carl.

\- I was not expecting this. At all, - she started to press her clawed finger to his white underpants with pink hearts, trying to suppress her laugh, - OK, give me a break, - she started to laugh with Carl, and after some time she leaned to him again, kissing softly, - Let me guess...you have more of those?

\- I have one pair with cat faces, and one with bears.

\- Next time I want to see...bears. Definitely bears, - she pressed herself to Carl's body again and put her hand over his crotch. Carl quickly tensed, sensing that her hands was slowly and gently moving all over his length, that was still under those ridiculous underpants, - Because right now I want to tease you. We will take it slow, just as you want to do it, but we have to do the first small step before we can do - how Grizzly said - "main event" next time.

\- Thanks, Grace, - Carl sighed with relief. After some hesitation, he slowly rose his hand from the bed and touched Grace's face, feeling her smooth alien chitin under his palm, - Let's hurry slow.

\- You are getting more confident. Good, - she, like a cat, rubbed herself over his palm a bit, while her hand started to slowly removing his underpants, - Don't lie like that, I know you like it a lot, but have a conscience! Help me with those, - after some fuss Grace finally get underpants from Carl, exposing him naked to her. She cocked her head to the side, and slowly reached Carl's manhood with her clawed arm and gently squeezing it. Carl tensed a lot, feeling how smooth chitin of her hand squeezed him, - ...now I understand why you like doing this night activity with yourself.

\- It's, as you said before, to relief stress.

\- Ri-i-i-i-ight, - she grinned, showing her teeth, and she made a slow stroke over his length, making Carl shiver. He felt her claws touching him, teasingly, and that smooth silkiness of her chitin hand could drive him insane. She made another slow stroke all over his length, and started to do it more frequently, but still rather slow, - You like it.

\- Y-yeah, - Carl could only whisper in response.

\- And I like it too, - she started to stroke him a little faster and more confident, now not just up and down, but also adding screw-like moves from left to right and in reverse. She stroked him for quite some time, adding more and more speed and pressure, when she suddenly put her thumb over his tip, starting to move it all over the tip.

\- I...won't hold long, - whispered Carl, already closing his eyes and trying to hold it, - You just doing it too much.

\- Oh. Guess I have to change my plans, I have no intentions to use only my hands.

Suddenly the pressure over his manhood disappeared, and Carl let a sigh of relief. But suddenly he felt that something was touching his tip, something warm and wet. He opened his eyes to see Grace leaned to his manhood with her tongue licking the tip in circular motions. After some time of licking Grace opened her mouth and pushed herself into his crotch.

The insides of her mouth were amazing - warm, smooth, and welcoming. She started to bob her head up and down over his length, adding more speed with every second. Carl couldn't even think straight, all he could do, is to close his eyes and just let his growls of pleasure out from his tensed chest. Carl knew, that he would not take long this torture, and tried his best to hold out.

But when Grace reached his sack and started to massage it, he gave up almost instantly and shoot right into her mouth.

Several times.

Grace stopped bobbing her head, and to Carl's surprise he heard and felt how she was swallowing his load and licking him clean with her long tongue. When she was done with cleaning him, Grace pressed herself into his manhood again, getting him erect again. But this time she wasn't just moving her head over his length, no - she stopped for a while, when Carl was fully erect, and she let out her tongue from her mouth. She playfully licked his tip, and to Carl's amazement her tongue started to coil around from the tip down to his shaft. And now was the most impressing part - while she was bobbing her head up and down all over him, her tongue was squeezing his length too in circular motions. It wasn't long before Carl shoot into her again, but she wasn't stopping at all - now she added her hand to squeeze and massage his sack, gently teasing it with the tip of her claws. It wasn't long until he shoot out again. And again. Carl lost the sense of time completely - it was just two of them, and maybe it was the first time in his life, when he was truly happy.

He didn't even noticed how he passed out from being sucked dry.

* * *

 **Author's Note, part 2:**

 **Yup. It happened.**

 **All that is left right now - is the epilogue, which will come as soon as possible, but it won't be a as big as other chapters - it just needs to point our several things for the...**

 **Sequel.**

 **I decided to continue their story, because I know how it will end already (several endings, to be exact, are already in my mind). But right now I will take some time to add epilogue and start next volume right away.**

 **In the epilogue I will say much more about everything. Stay tuned, and thanks to all of you for reading and supporting.**


	11. Epilogue

\- You passed out.

\- ...for how long?

\- For...ten hours, probably.

She was lying in bed, cuddling with Carl. He was naked, but could care less about it, especially what happened with them lately. He looked at her, noticing, how her tail was swaying around happilly and how her smile was warm and sincere. Carl closed his eyes and let out a sigh:

\- Well, this is embarrassing.

\- No, not at all. I just was...too happy with rewarding you, - she clicked on his nose slightly, - So if you will think, that this was "embarrassing", I will drain you again.

\- Maybe, this was the whole plan? - said Carl with a large grin on his face.

\- Oh, now I see it! - Grace chuckled a bit and pushed Carl from the bed, making him fall from it, - We are ready to go into hypersleep.

Their whole plan was actually simple - when they left Man's Fall, Emmerich along with Warren, Willis, Wolbur and Grace held a meeting to determine next course of action, and their first step was to acquire funding for their battle with Weyland-Yutani. Fake ID, fake ship's registration, solid cover, but money problem was the most important one. They can't use the digital means of transferring and using dollars, but thanks to Emmerich there was an option to use the platinum and silver from his secret account on one planet:

\- We get here, take all the money we can find, and leave, that's fine for me, - sighed Wolbur, agreeing with Emmerich, - But what is our next step?

\- I gathered a lot of data while I was working with the Company, lieutenant, - said Emmerich, turning to him, - I wanted to be perfectly safe from possible termination of my life, and I succeeded - there are a lot of evidence about Company's failures, including LV-426 incidents.

\- OK, we gather evidence from your planet. What we do next with it?

\- We use it wisely. Some people in Company are still in my pocket and will transfer new data, even while we are getting to a planet. Their information could actually lead us to new clues. And I have some reliable people that could actually start the legal process.

\- So, the general idea is to find out who decided to sabotage your project and wipe out the whole colony, and redeem our names while dragging Company into big pile of shit, - Wolbur rubbed his chin thoughtfully, - Sounds solid enough.

That was the plan. At least what was looking like it anyway...Carl was the last person to enter hypersleep, and thank Emmerich's paranoia for having special hypersleep pod, designed for Grace, it won't be an issue.

When Carl saw the pod closing over him, his last thoughts were about the coming. He had a very sudden feeling of unspeakable dread, but it was only for a several seconds before he finally entered hypersleep.

* * *

\- Report.

\- They arrived three days later after the events on Man's Fall. We think, it wasn't Wayland commanding the sabotage, he is interested in xenomorph research like no one else.

\- Specimen Zero and One?

\- Specimen Zero considered KIA, specimen One - MIA.

\- Any leads on the saboteurs?

\- "Arbiter" was the ship of "Crimson Knife" PMC. They are licensed and registered as independent company, but their ship was build by one of the many sub-companies, owned by W-Y. So goes with their weapons and equipment.

\- Owners?

\- We are tracking them down as we speak.

\- Track the specimen One and confirm her other KIA or alive. Work on the leads and find out, who send the "Arbiter"...also check the records and find out, who was approving new PMC to guard Emmerich's project.

\- Will do. Anything else, miss Yutani?

\- Nothing for now, carry on.

She pressed a button, ending private call and sighed. From the tall skycrapper she was looking over the Earth, or what was left of it - a giant maze of narrow streets, large corporate buildings, pulsing energetic neon signs, billiards of small light sources right under her feet, crawling on streets and dying right now somewhere. The rain was especially nasty today, pouring without mercy from the skies for hours without taking a break.

She sat in her expensive chair - natural leather, handwork - and closed her eyes, hearing rain drops hitting the large observing window. Her thoughts were with Emmerich and his success, but they were clouded by very unexpected enemy. It wasn't Weyland - he was trying to track down Ellen Ripley after her missing at LV-426, and he only agreed on giving money to Emmerich's project. No...it was someone else.

And she will find him. She will find Emmerich and Specimen One, before it's too late.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Small, yes, but I wanted some sort of closure to this and a bridge to a sequel.**

 **This is actually it. The End, of this story anyway, and a start of a new one. I want to make a sequel bigger, better, darker, as I stated before, and I will try my best to do this.**

 **I want to thank you all for reading and supporting. This is my first experience of publishing a story to everyone, and it took all my courage to even start it. I guess it payed off, because I know now, what I can do better.**

 **As of now, I probably can use a beta. I am going to think about it later, since it's actually hard for me to lend my stuff to unknown people.**

 **Anyway, thank you all again, we did it. Stay tuned, since we starting a new journey with Carl and Grace pretty soon.**

 **Cheers!**


End file.
